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China’s Electronic Junkyard
Time has a photo gallery and accompanying brief article about Guiyu, a city in China where much of the world’s discarded cell phones, computers, and iPods are sent for “recycling.”
Getting rid of unwanted electronics is problematic; every day Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers, which have the potential to leak lead, mercury, and other poisons into the soil and water supply.
Thus, American “recycling” companies ship our worn-out gadgets to Guiyu, where peasants heat circuit boards over coal fires to recover lead, and use acid to burn off bits of gold. Rates of cancer, miscarriage, and childhood lead poisoning are very high.
