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E-waste village
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A E-waste village is a dumping-ground for electronic waste. Developed countries such as the US, Canada, European nations, Australia, South Korea and Japan have replaced massive amounts of obsolete electronic equipment and home appliances (computers, Hi-Fi, washing machines, refrigerators, microwave ovens and TV sets, etc.) with newer versions, creating a huge E-waste problem for the global environment. Toxic materials The E-waste contains highly toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and thallium. Other substances found in large quantities in E-waste include epoxy resins, fiberglass, PCBs, PVC, thermosetting plastics, lead, tin, copper, silicon, beryllium, carbon, iron and aluminium. The opportunity to cheaply dispose of these substances forms the economic incentive behind the exporting of E-waste to countries such as China, India, and some African nations which have little or no environment checks and control. This export creates a global E-waste village phenomenon among some third world countries who take Toxic waste from the First world into their farmland. Basel Action Network One of the main watchdogs of the disposal of E-waste is the Basel Action Network (BAN), an non-governmental charitable organization that works to combat the export of toxic waste, toxic technologies and toxic products from industrialized societies to developing countries. BAN is named after the Basel Convention, a United Nations treaty designed to control and prevent the dumping of toxic wastes, particularly on developing countries. BAN serves as a watchdog and promoter of the Basel Convention and its decisions. See Also
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