Title: How E-waste Works | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How E-waste Works
How E-waste Works
E-waste Dangers
E-waste Regulations
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle E-waste
E-waste Excellence
Citation

Content: Input about e-waste regulations are coming from a number of fronts, including grassroots organizations, governing bodies and industrial leaders. Many organizations have recognized the potential for e-waste dangers for years. However, the issue recently came to the forefront of media in 2002, when Basel Action Network's ( BAN) documentary "Exporting Harm" was released. BAN works to reduce the harmful effects of exporting e-waste and promotes sustainable solutions to worldwide waste issues. So-called recyclers and scrap brokers were buying e-waste from developed regions throughout the world and dumping it in developing nations. In some parts of these countries, people were dismantling electronics on street corners, instead of in recycling facilities. Advertisement
Picture something like this: Mountains of discarded TV s and computer monitors tower above the rutted streets of a low-income urban community. In order to make a living, hundreds of people work in the shadow of this heap of e-waste. Some people tend fires which burn and remove the plastic from copper wires, putting out billows of noxious smoke.