At the Las Vegas E-Waste Summit last November, Jim Puckett of BAN and I each gave presentations on the export of used electronics for reuse and repair. Jim's powerpoint had a slide showing this UK Independent journalist's (Cahal Milmo) 2009 article on the arrest of "Nigerian Exporters".
Milmo took a 2013 victory lap recently, alluding to his role in the 2009 seizures of Benson's electronics.
The Independent and Sky News coverage would have been ludicrous, except for the pictures of children burning scrap in horrid conditions. The NGOs said that "80%" of the imports of used electronics in Africa were dumped, burned by "scrap boy" children, in primitive circumstances. (Sky News is owned by Rupert Murdoch... they cut a copper wire in a TV, gave it to Benson, and tracked it to Lagos, then bought it for 70 British pounds, and showed the cut wire. My 11 year old could fix that TV. If they think there is $107 in copper in a junk TV, have I got a deal for them). (Correction: I confused the Sky News TV with the BBC Track My Trash TV. Sky News removed a part and bought the TV back for 40 British Pounds, about $62. BBC cut the wire and bought their TV back in Lagos for 70 Pounds or $107).
The UNEP study showed that most of what the kids were burning was sourced from waste generated in Lagos. Nigeria had 6,900,000 households with tellies in 2007 (World Bank). The used electronics trade was already decades old, and was responsible for the development of communications infrastructure in Africa. 70% of all purchase of electronics in Nigeria, a nation of 170M, are used goods sold by people like Benson.
My first meeting with Joe Benson (Environmental Malpractice 6.1) in London was just a few days ago. Unlike other factories and traders I've written about, I had never met, never sold to, bought from, or spoken with Benson. This was a cold call.
Like the character Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, Benson was at first awkward and not very talkative. Like Robinson, Benson seemed overwhelmed by the system of accusations leading to seizures and fines, without assessment of the veracity of the allegation. Another recycler, clubbed to death in 2010.
My pidgin English is very very rusty, but I opened with a few words in pidgin just to hopefully make Benson and his three friends know I was a different kind of environmentalist. That got a chuckle, but fell a bit flat, and we resumed the conversation in Queens English.
Milmo took a 2013 victory lap recently, alluding to his role in the 2009 seizures of Benson's electronics.
Puckett (a former employee of Greenpeace in Europe) showed the article in his slide show between photos of kids at dumps. I raised my hand and asked him why he was applauding the arrest of Joseph Benson, when the UNEP found Benson's containers to be 91% working? Puckett said "I don't know that name". I referred him to his own slide. And reminded him afterwards. People have names."Owners and employees of a string of waste disposal companies have been fined more than £200,000 following Britain's largest investigation into the illegal export of toxic dumped electronics to the developing world.
"The eight men, whose firm’s operated across the country, were found to have been at the heart of a lucrative trade which sends tonnes of waste computers and other consumer durables to west Africa and Asia every year to be stripped of valuable metals in grim conditions, often by children."One of the company owners, Joseph Benson, whose BJ Electronics toured civic waste sites picking up electronic goods to be sent illegally to Nigeria from east London, was convicted following an investigation by The Independent, Sky News and Greenpeace."
The Independent and Sky News coverage would have been ludicrous, except for the pictures of children burning scrap in horrid conditions. The NGOs said that "80%" of the imports of used electronics in Africa were dumped, burned by "scrap boy" children, in primitive circumstances. (Sky News is owned by Rupert Murdoch... they cut a copper wire in a TV, gave it to Benson, and tracked it to Lagos, then bought it for 70 British pounds, and showed the cut wire. My 11 year old could fix that TV. If they think there is $107 in copper in a junk TV, have I got a deal for them). (Correction: I confused the Sky News TV with the BBC Track My Trash TV. Sky News removed a part and bought the TV back for 40 British Pounds, about $62. BBC cut the wire and bought their TV back in Lagos for 70 Pounds or $107).
The UNEP study showed that most of what the kids were burning was sourced from waste generated in Lagos. Nigeria had 6,900,000 households with tellies in 2007 (World Bank). The used electronics trade was already decades old, and was responsible for the development of communications infrastructure in Africa. 70% of all purchase of electronics in Nigeria, a nation of 170M, are used goods sold by people like Benson.
My first meeting with Joe Benson (Environmental Malpractice 6.1) in London was just a few days ago. Unlike other factories and traders I've written about, I had never met, never sold to, bought from, or spoken with Benson. This was a cold call.Like the character Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, Benson was at first awkward and not very talkative. Like Robinson, Benson seemed overwhelmed by the system of accusations leading to seizures and fines, without assessment of the veracity of the allegation. Another recycler, clubbed to death in 2010.
My pidgin English is very very rusty, but I opened with a few words in pidgin just to hopefully make Benson and his three friends know I was a different kind of environmentalist. That got a chuckle, but fell a bit flat, and we resumed the conversation in Queens English.
