Global Dynamics of e-waste
Exporting harm & Pollution havens
Flow of Services vs Waste
We've explored production, consumption, and disposal, but where is our waste disposed of? Unfortunately, it's not possible to map consumption/waste generation data directly onto, for example, the total volume of e-waste imported to a country, as disposal goes through many (often illicit) channels.The flow of exchange does, however, suggest a systematic relationship between a country's GDP per capita and its likelihood of being a net importer of e-waste.
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Data collected by Lepawsky and McNabb indicated that as GDP per capita decreased, the probability of a country being a net importer of e-waste increased. Additionally, e-waste trade transactions occurred between trade partners where the importing country had a lower GDP per capita than the exporting country. Thus, wealthier nations are exporting their e-waste to less affluent ones and inter-regional flow of e-waste typically moves from developed to developing countries. The harmful health and environmental impacts of e-waste processing, therefore, are not uniformly distributed across users of the technology. See below the degradation of a part of Accra, Ghana over the years as it has devolved into a digital dump:
agbogbloshie, Accra, ghana: "the World's digital dumping ground"
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(L-R): J. Blauhut/Universität Bayreuth, Martin Oteng-Ababio/University of Ghana
E-waste does not have to be an end-point in a linear chain, however. Approached more thoughtfully and conscientiously, the materials discarded as e-waste in one location can become valuable resources when they are reused, repurposed, or broken down as feedstocks for new commodities or for subsequent rounds of production. This dynamic illustrates the complexity of the global e-waste trade and its interconnectedness in broader economic and environmental systems. Learn more about recycling e-waste.