There is a lot of discussion on the vulnerability of environmental laws and the loopholes which makes it easier for the companies to deceive the authorities about their environmental footprint. Recycling of the electronic waste is a major headache as it involves a lot of bucks. The easiest way of getting rid of the e-waste is to dump it in the developing countries and this practice has been in place for many years.

A recent research by the Government Accountability Office revealed that many companies are exporting e-waste materials, including CRT monitors, to the third world countries instead of recycling at home due to relaxed regulations. In environmental reports, however, they claim that they have recycled it by themselves and in full compliance with the international standards.

What these companies have failed to comprehend is that their negligence is killing people in those countries where these parts are ‘recycled’. Pakistan along with India and China are major importers of e-waste. The recycling of these materials is done under extremely dangerous procedures without any safety measures. As a result, the workers involved in the recycling industry become victims of debilitating diseases.

If we talk specifically about Pakistan, the e-waste from these countries end up in open air goddowns at Karachi where workers as young as eight years old break them into parts, incinerate and sort them out. There are no rules and regulations currently in place which can monitor the inflow of these materials. The massive dumping of e-waste has created many environmental and biological hazards in the area as well.

The e-waste dumping will continue and people from developing countries will suffer unless and until an international consensus is not reached on this issue. The responsibility lies on the shoulders of developed countries and specifically on these companies. It’s not fair to clean your backyard while polluting the whole nations. Anyone listening?

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