Electronics waste is an ecological time bomb for Developing Countries such as Nigeria

Some 50 million tones of hazardous e-waste, various electronics that have long met their life cycle and now need to be disposed, are being generated each year. The figure has risen dramatically compared to previous years and will continue to do so in the future as well, in part because manufacturers have constantly lowered their product’s life cycles, from five years on average to two years on average, for increased profits. With this in mind, the issue is far from being new, what’s clear is that people, and especially governments and major electronics manufacturers, need to be reminded of this great peril some parts of the world might be facing.

Often times, governments of developed countries wash their hands off and send their e-waste over to developing countries, where labor is cheaper and environmental laws are more permissive. Here, in parts of the world like Africa or Asia, precious metals that go into e-waste (gold, silver and platinum from microchips, motherboards etc.) are basically scavenged under precarious working conditions, leading to extensive pollution of air, water, food and people.

Credit: zmescience