Poor Nations are Littered with Old PC's
Much of the used computer equipment sent from the United States to developing countries for use in homes, schools and businesses is often neither usable nor repairable, creating enormous environmental problems in some of the world's poorest places, according to a report issued yesterday by an environmental organization.
The report, titled "The Digital Dump: Exporting Reuse and Abuse to Africa," says that the unusable equipment is being donated or sold to developing nations by recycling businesses in the U.S. as a way to dodge the expense of having to recycle it properly.
More than 63 million computers in the U.S. will become obsolete in 2005. An average computer monitor can contain as much as eight pounds of lead, along with plastics laden with flame retardants and cadmium. NYT
Blame Bush, anyone?
The report, titled "The Digital Dump: Exporting Reuse and Abuse to Africa," says that the unusable equipment is being donated or sold to developing nations by recycling businesses in the U.S. as a way to dodge the expense of having to recycle it properly.
More than 63 million computers in the U.S. will become obsolete in 2005. An average computer monitor can contain as much as eight pounds of lead, along with plastics laden with flame retardants and cadmium. NYT
Blame Bush, anyone?
posted by ritzy @ 2:03 pm
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