ash ▁from ▁North ▁America ▁and ▁Western ▁Europe ▁to ▁Africa ▁and ▁Asia ▁due ▁to ▁the ▁relatively ▁low ▁cost ▁of ▁dispos al . ▁By ▁the ▁ 1 9 9 0 s , ▁over ▁half ▁of ▁all ▁nations ▁in ▁Africa ▁have ▁faced ▁negative ▁external ities ▁from ▁to xic ▁waste ▁dump ed ▁by ▁rich er ▁countries . ▁W aste , ▁both ▁to xic ▁and ▁non - to xic ▁is ▁often ▁dump ed ▁without ▁safety ▁reg ulations . ▁It ▁is ▁thrown ▁in ▁un lined ▁and ▁un reg ulated ▁land fill s ▁where ▁it ▁cont amin ates ▁soil ▁and ▁water , ▁and ▁even ▁bur nt , ▁which ▁circul ates ▁to x ins ▁in ▁the ▁air . ▁Rec ently , ▁electronic ▁waste ▁sh ipped ▁to ▁Niger ia ▁has ▁increased ▁due ▁to ▁higher ▁consumption ▁of ▁electron ics ▁by ▁North ▁America ▁Europe , ▁with ▁hundreds ▁of ▁ship ments ▁of ▁old ▁electron ics ▁dropped ▁off ▁at ▁Lag os , ▁Niger ia , ▁every ▁month . ▁A ▁significantly ▁large ▁percentage ▁of ▁the ▁tr ash ▁being ▁ha z ard ous ▁waste ▁sh ipped ▁with ▁the ▁" exp licit ▁intent ▁of ▁cheap ▁( and ▁unsafe ) ▁dispos al ". ▁China , ▁also , ▁receives ▁huge ▁amounts ▁of ▁waste , ▁often ▁to xic ▁material , ▁aver aging ▁ 1 . 9 ▁million ▁tons ▁per ▁year , ▁because ▁companies ▁find ▁it ▁che aper ▁to ▁ship ▁garbage ▁away ▁rather ▁than ▁dispose ▁of ▁it ▁themselves . ▁ ▁Food ▁waste ▁ ▁In ▁ 2 0 0 4 , ▁a ▁University ▁of ▁Arizona ▁study ▁indicates ▁that ▁forty ▁to ▁fifty ▁percent ▁of ▁all