14
June 2008 - Hong Kong — A container of electronic
waste (e-waste) from Port of Oakland in
the US was intercepted in Hong Kong by Greenpeace
activists. After months of research, we
determined that the container was destined
for Sanshui district in mainland China meaning
that - under Chinese law - the import was
illegal. Activists boarded the YM Success,
pitched a tent on top of the containers
and prevented the illegal e-waste from being
offloaded.
We urged the Hong Kong
authorities to take action by refusing the
entry of the container and to send it back
to the US. Banners made our message clear:
‘Toxic waste not welcomed here.’ The captain
of the ship agreed not to offload the container
until the Hong Kong authorities investigate
the legality.
Earlier this year, we
asked the question, “Where does all the
e-waste go?”. On this occasion, we were
able to find out exactly where it was going
– but this is only the tip of an enormous
e-waste mountain, regularly and illegally
entering mainland China “thanks” to loopholes
in Hong Kong’s legislation.
When workers in the
so-called “informal” recycling centres break
electronic devices up so they can recover
valuable metals, they are exposed to the
hazardous chemical substances contained
in most electronic equipment. This toxic
cocktail not only threatens human health;
it also pollutes the water, soil and air
of the surrounding environment.
Electronics are increasingly
becoming part of the “throw away” culture
in many developed countries. Few electronic
devices are designed to be upgradeable,
and because they are made with hazardous
materials – including toxic heavy metals,
phthalates, polyvinyl chloride and brominated
flame retardants – recycling is not always
a safe and easy option.
Every year, some 20
to 50 million tonnes of dangerous e-waste
are generated worldwide. While some can
be accounted for in general household waste
or landfills, some end up – often illegally,
as is the case here – in the scrap yards
and dumping grounds of developing countries
in Asia and Africa.
In the US it is still
legal to export collected e-waste to Asia
and Africa. In the European Union, e-waste
is regulated by EU and national law. But,
even in countries with regulations there
is a surprisingly large amount of e-waste
that is not captured by producer responsibility
programmes or take-back schemes. Print Send
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Ultimately, the principle
of producer responsibility is key to solving
this problem. This principle requires that
the manufacturers of electronics devices
take the financial and management responsibilities
for what happens to their own end-of-life
products. Companies like Sony, Samsung and
Nokia have introduced take-back schemes,
but there are many other major companies
that still need to follow this example.
Some maintain that it is their customers’
responsibility to pay for the costs of recycling
e-waste.
And, by phasing-out
the use of toxic chemicals in electronics
devices at the design stage of a product’s
life, manufacturers make it safer to recycle
e-waste and reduce their own costs for dealing
with their end-of-life products. What greater
incentive could they want?
Manufacturers need to
implement toxic-free design and bring green
electronics onto the markets, and introduce
take-back schemes to responsibly recycle
or dispose of their products when they reach
the end of their life. For as long as electronics
manufacturers fail to live up to their responsibilities,
e-waste will continue to flow to places
like China.
Help Us Keep China clean.
Sign our petition and ask the Hong Kong
authorities to put an end to the trafficking
of electronics waste to China!
