Is e-waste being illegally dumped in Africa?

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A council failed to properly recycle old electronics equipment, according to researchers from environmental group Greenpeace, suggesting disposal firms hired by official channels are dumping e-waste in developing countries against recent guidelines.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive came into force two years ago in the UK, requiring all businesses to correctly dispose of electrical devices, be they televisions, computers or other equipment.

While dumping e-waste in developing countries is not a new issue, Greenpeace and Sky television carried out an experiment to see if the situation had improved. "We took an unfixable TV, fitted it with a tracking device and brought it to Hampshire County Council for recycling. Instead of being safely dismantled in the UK or Europe, like it should have been, the council's 'recycling' company, BJ Electronics, passed it on as 'second-hand goods' and it was shipped off to Nigeria to be sold or scrapped and dumped," the green group wrote in its blog.

Greenpeace's complaint stems from the fact that the television was incorrectly classed as 'fit for reuse', when it should have been classed as waste. It said that had it been classified correctly, and identified as containing hazardous components, it would never have been exported to Nigeria.

The announcement is the result of three years worth of research into electronic waste. Hampshire County Council said it would investigate the claims.

“The contractor operating our household waste recycling centres uses approved sub-contractors who collect televisions from a range of recycling centres and those that are assessed as functional are exported to Africa for reuse," the council said in a statement.

"Our primary aim has always been to ensure that waste electrical items are reused wherever possible, and that only functional TVs and monitors are sent abroad. We do not condone the exportation of televisions that cannot be reused," the council added.

Greenpeace noted that it was the responsibility of all organisations to make sure that their waste was dealt with in an appropriate manner. It said: "We need them to take full responsibility for the safe recycling of their products and put an end to the growing toxic e-waste dumps across the developing world."

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