The Ethical Issues Surrounding E-Waste Disposal

The world produces roughly 50 million tons of e-waste a year, and the number continues to grow. This waste generally falls into the toxic category, making its disposal more difficult than just tossing it into a landfill. However, a landfill somewhere is still where it often ends up. This creates significant ethical issues surrounding the disposal of e-waste. How E-Waste Disposal Creates Ethical Issues While shipping e-waste to poorer countries technically goes against the Basel Convention, which was signed by a number of countries, including the United States, the practice remains common. Countries will ship old or malfunctioning technology to poorer countries, often in West Africa or Southeast Asia. Once the technology arrives there, it follows a few different paths, […]