Pal Adam in Malaysia forwarded this to me, suggesting it was good blog fodder. And it is, except that it speaks for itself.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/dirty-tourism-cambodia
Here is a story which cannot seem to "speak for itself" to many reporters I meet...
In 4 days I'll be leaving to meet three reporter/documentarians at Agbogbloshie, who are working on a very similar story in Ghana. I've provided each with some of the same information. I have shared hard data on the sources of these diagrams, but will still treat it as a "thesis" and look for evidence to confirm or deny the "E-Waste Hoax" from the heart of Agbogbloshie, Ghana.
Here's my thesis:
Explaining the circles... New product sales are estimated at 30% of total sales. That's like Egypt in 2002, and it will change (today new product is a higher percentage of Egyptian markets). Used electronics products are estimated at 70% of electronics sales. A small portion of each may go "directly to Agbogbloshie", but it is far more likely (85%-93%) will be used for a decade or more. Meanwhile, most of the "junk" at the African dump have nothing to do with electronics.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/dirty-tourism-cambodia
Here is a story which cannot seem to "speak for itself" to many reporters I meet...
In 4 days I'll be leaving to meet three reporter/documentarians at Agbogbloshie, who are working on a very similar story in Ghana. I've provided each with some of the same information. I have shared hard data on the sources of these diagrams, but will still treat it as a "thesis" and look for evidence to confirm or deny the "E-Waste Hoax" from the heart of Agbogbloshie, Ghana.
Here's my thesis:
- Wealthy OECD nations use brand new computer displays, TVs and cars for about 4 years average (afterwards these go into the "secondary market").
- CRT displays and cars last an average 15-25 years (depending on hours of use / mileage)
- Rapidly urbanizing cities like Lagos and Accra have electricity, average per capita incomes of about $3000 per year, and access to television broadcast and internet (and highways). The purchase price of the electronics is a very high percentage of wages, which supports a vibrant repair infrastructure.
- Repairpeople (like Joe Benson, Emmanuel Nyaletey, Wahab Odoi) can repair 15 year old electronics sourced in Ghana and Lagos, but make far more money repairing (or finding working) appliances that are 4-5 years old from wealthy nations.
- As appliances from the 1990s and 2000s wear out in Ghana and Nigeria, most owners take them to be repaired, but are often convinced instead to buy a newer 5 year old model from London rather than repair their 20 year old appliance from London.
- The commerce funding the imports of 500+ imported containers per month is the reuse and resale market which sells affordable "good enough" technology for 25% the cost of brand new.
Explaining the circles... New product sales are estimated at 30% of total sales. That's like Egypt in 2002, and it will change (today new product is a higher percentage of Egyptian markets). Used electronics products are estimated at 70% of electronics sales. A small portion of each may go "directly to Agbogbloshie", but it is far more likely (85%-93%) will be used for a decade or more. Meanwhile, most of the "junk" at the African dump have nothing to do with electronics.
Even if no imports at all come to Accra, the amount of scrap and waste arriving at Agbogbloshie will continue to increase for the next 15 years, based on sales documented by World Bank in 2003.
