Europe exporting e-waste to African ports

Containers filled with old and often broken computers, monitors and TVs -- of famous electronic brands - arrive in Ghana from the United States, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands under the label of second-hand goods.
Exporting e-waste from Europe and America is illegal but exporting unwanted and broken electrical goods under the tag of old electronics for 'reuse' allows unscrupulous traders to profit from dumping e-waste in Ghana.
These obsolete electronics are often laden with toxic chemicals like lead, mercury and brominates flame retardants. In the yards, unprotected workers, many of them children, dismantle computers and TVs with little more than stones in search of metals that can be sold.
The remaining plastic, cables and casing is either burnt or simply dumped on waste grounds and these cause heavy air, soil and water pollution.
Many of the chemicals released are highly toxic and affect children's developing reproductive systems, brain development and the human nervous system.
As a solution, prominent electronic companies around the world should phase out toxic chemicals and introduce global recycling methods. Some companies are already making progress towards taking responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their electronic products.
Governments of developing countries should regulate this electronic trade with commercial parties more strictly to prevent hazardous situations like the one in Ghana.
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• E-waste
• Soil
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• Pollution
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• dumps