Meet Alex Gorosh. He's a filmmaker from Los Angeles, who had one question — Where does all of our e-waste go? So, Gizmogul sent him to West Africa to do a little research, and this is what he found.
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E-Waste, also know as electronic waste, is defined as disposed computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets, and refrigerators.
According to Alex, 50% of all electronic waste from the U.S. gets shipped abroad. And the majority of that waste goes to Agbogbloshie, Ghana, West Africa.
Once the e-waste arrives at the landfills in Agbogbloshie, workers take the electronics apart and either sell the scraps or burn them.
Workers would work long hours in extremely hazardous conditions to only make a few dollars a day.
In the video, Ghanian local Kwame says: "Lots of these guys have no money and no place to sleep. So, it's just a matter of life because they have to survive."
However, not only are the toxic fumes harmful to the workers at the landfill, they're also harmful to the neighboring towns.
Now, the question is: What can we do to prevent all of this?
Instead of dumping your old electronics in the trash bin, you can send them into electronic recycling companies such as Gizmogul.
By recycling responsibly, we can improve the living conditions in places such as Agbogbloshie, and bring more smiles into the communities.
