E-waste: Where Some Cell Phones Go to Die

So now that you know your computers, cellphones, and other unsuspecting electronics contain an array of nasty chemicals that can harm your health, as well as the environment, where does all this stuff go when your done? Well if you didn't dispose of all your old electronics properly, as advised with the new electric waste law in Vermont, it will actually end up halfway across the world!

50,000 tons of e-waste is imported to India from developed countries every year according to Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology, and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation in India. I know some of you may be thinking, "Oh, thats kinda cool. All my old electronic crap made it all the way to India, maybe ill go there one day too."

Little did you know however, that men and women in small groups burn the wires they dig up from e-waste, and soak them in open acid baths (which is illegal) to retrieve the copper inside. They then sell what they can retrieve, where only a few kilos can earn about $3 to $5 a day. There are also high health and environmental risks of their methods of material recovery. Extracting metals like copper in open acid baths releases toxins, heavy metals, and brominated flame retardants. These acid and chemical residues then contaminate the water and soil where local people drink and eat.

I know this is pretty heavy stuff to associate with something as simple as how you choose the throw away your old electronics. But hey, I think it's time to wake up and pay more attention. We owe it to the planet and the rest of the world to make that extra effort for being as lucky and privileged as we are. So next time think twice about how you choose to get rid of your old stuff, and remember that it may end up in the place you least expect it to be.