E-Waste On Developing Countries

Where Does E-Waste Go?

One question you may be asking is about whether E-Waste gets shipped to developing countries. The answer to this question is yes. E-waste gets shipped to poor countries such as India, and Ghana. According to a report published by the United Nations, there are around 50 million tons of E-waste being shipped to countries each year. Only poor workers work in the E-waste industry , and they never take health precautions such as wearing masks. Children also contribute in the workforce (Robinson) .

How Is E-Waste Affecting Ghana

Ghana is the world’s largest electronic waste dump. Ghana is also one of the poorest countries in the world. According to a 2011 study, the country of Ghana imports around 150,000 tons of electronic waste each year (Yeung). It has been reported that Ghana’s atmosphere is filled up with acidic gusts of smoke, due to interactions with the internal components of the electronics.

Ghana E-Waste Workers

In Ghana, there are approximately 80,000 humans working in the electronic waste industry. This number composes of men, women, and very young children children. Those workers are forced into working in detrimental working conditions due to their financial demands. Those workers are forced into practicing informal recycling producers. Most of the time, the electronic components are burned which causes numerous repository problems (Yeung).

Workers' Life Conditions In Ghana

The lives of the workers who work in the electronic waste dumps are filled with poverty. It has been reported that most of the workers do not have homes, and are forced into making shelters out of scrap. Abdrahaman Daouda- a worker in the electronic waste reports that he earns no more than $7.50 cedis a day, and he also reports that sometimes the air becomes very difficult to breathe(Yeung). In addition, it is very common for people to die at age 20 in Ghana due to the extreme levels of pollution caused by electronic waste. It is also important to note that the workers are unable to take any health precautions to protect their health against the severe pollution (Yeung).