• What happens to the electronic waste produced by the United States?

A big part of it, is not recycled and it is send to Asia, China in particular. And the little part that is recycled, does it in a very primitive process.

• What happens to e-waste after it arrives in developing countries?

They are recycled in a very primitive way, in which the main objective is to obtain the worthy metals this products have.

To do this they burn the E-Waste, and this is done with any protection equipment, so people is constantly exposed to toxic elements.

• Why does so much e-waste get shipped to Asia?

Because in China there is a settled market, in which people sell the worthy metals of this e-waste, although they don´t have the infrastructure to prevent the import of this e-waste, so in other words this import of e-waste sometimes, is illegal.

• What are the negative effects of dumping e-waste?

It pollutes the air we are breathing in a global way, and also it is affecting the health of lots of communities. And it also affect the water system. 

• How do the toxins in e-waste return to the United States?

In some of the children jewellery, because the same plastics that are burned in Asia or India are used for this toys, which are actually toxic.

• What can concerned citizens do about e-waste?

They can start asking to the companies to sell electronic products, to create a payback system for used electronic devices, or get in contact with specialized enterprises to recycle this e-waste.

Discuss the questions and share students’ reactions together as a class.