No.
There is more and more "e-waste" in Africa. But the West (Europe and USA) are exporting fewer and fewer containers of used electronics. The implication is obvious... used electronics DID work for 5-15 years after they were imported - Africans are finally replacing TVs and computers they imported more than a decade ago.
There is no big story here, other than the fake news was faked and Joe Benson is in jail because of it.
More African city households have had multiple televisions since the 1990s. But the "sources" for the foreign dumping claim have all dried up.
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| John Henry: "Where did that @#$% statistic go?" |
And there is no evidence of widespread violations of international law. 15% waste is the margin of accidental breakage, electrostatic discharge, human error, etc., and it's as likely (or more likely) to come from brand new product lots as from used.
The discussion is not about what happens to used electronic scrap. This is about is how to feel about people, and how those feelings promote a political agenda with multiple stakeholders, winners and losers.
How to feel about poor people, how to feel about non-profits, how to feel about ourselves when we consume more goods, how to feel about ourselves as do-gooders and non-profit founders..? That's far more interesting than which type of video display (used CRT or new LCD) an African with $3,000 annual income should invest in.
[Addendum 6/23/2015 - After forced evictions begin, Discard Studies essay by J. Lepawsky and G. Akese explains history and land politics]
