The harms extend beyond the dumps themselves

October 11, 2024 1:13 AM

Formally, Ghana prohibits the import of many forms of hazardous e-waste material. But the team found that a well-placed bribe can get port officials to look the other way. As a result, informal e-waste sites are growing across Ghana’s coast. There, both functional and non-functional e-waste get dumped into vast piles that are encroaching on residential areas. Thousands of “pickers” come to these sites, picking through the rubbish to separate items that might be repaired from waste that could contain valuable minerals. from Stunning photos of a vast e-waste dumping ground — and those who make a living off it [NPR]

13th edition of the Carmignac photojournalism award: E-WASTE IN GHANA: Tracing Transboundary Flows

posted by chavenet (4 comments total)

Life's what you make it.
posted by Molesome at 2:52 AM on October 11 [3 favorites]

MetaPrev: dead white man’s clothes also Ghana.
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:41 AM on October 11 [1 favorite]

Source countries of e-waste
posted by Ideefixe at 7:49 AM on October 11 [1 favorite]

That's the free market for you.
posted by allthinky at 7:43 AM on October 12