Managing Global Waste Flows
- Imagine buying a new smartphone.
- What happens to your old one?
- In many cases, it becomes e-waste, part of the 50 million tonnes of electronic waste generated globally each year.
- Most of this waste doesn’t stay in high-income countries (HICs) instead, it’s exported to low-income countries (LICs), creating a complex web of environmental and social challenges.
E-Waste and Consumer Waste: A Global Problem
The Journey of E-Waste
- E-waste includes discarded electronic devices like phones, computers, and televisions.
- HICs often export this waste to LICs for cheaper disposal and recycling.
- However, these countries often lack the infrastructure to manage e-waste safely, leading to severe consequences.
Ghana’s Agbogbloshie is one of the world’s largest e-waste dumps. Workers, including children, dismantle electronics by hand, exposing themselves to toxic chemicals like lead and mercury. These pollutants contaminate soil and water, affecting local ecosystems and human health.
Why Is E-Waste Exported?
- Cost Savings: Storing and recycling in LICs is cheaper due to lower cost of land and labor and fewer regulations.
- Loopholes: E-waste is often mislabeled as "second-hand goods" to bypass international laws like the Basel Convention, which restricts hazardous waste exports.
- Lack of Infrastructure: HICs may lack sufficient recycling facilities, making export an attractive option.
Many students assume e-waste is always recycled in LICs. In reality, much of it ends up in informal dumps, where only a small fraction is recovered in rather primitive conditions.
The Impact on LICs
- Environmental Damage: Burning e-waste releases toxic gases, while chemicals leach into soil and water.
- Health Risks: Workers face exposure to carcinogens and heavy metals, leading to respiratory issues, neurological damage, and other health problems.
- Social Inequality: The burden of e-waste falls disproportionately on vulnerable communities, exacerbating poverty and inequality.
When analyzing e-waste flows, consider both environmental and social impacts. This holistic approach is essential for IB Geography assessments.
Consumer Waste: A Growing Challenge
The Scale of the Problem
- Beyond e-waste, consumer waste - including plastics, textiles, and food waste - poses significant challenges.
- HICs generate vast quantities of waste, much of which is exported to LICs.
In 2018, China banned the import of plastic waste, disrupting global waste flows. Many HICs began exporting waste to Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia or The Philippines, overwhelming their waste management systems. These countries followed to some extent the Chinese regulations shifting waste exports to LICs, located mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Why Is Consumer Waste Exported?
- Cost Efficiency: Storing and processing waste in LICs is cheaper than in HICs.
