Every week, an estimated 900 illegal containers packed with faulty IT equipment are being shipped to the shores of Africa and Asia, of which 80% is obsolete and destined to be dumped according to waste experts. The UK government says it is powerless to stop this practice because of the surge in volumes of fraudulently classified waste being exported under the pretext of ‘re-use’.

The disposal of IT rubbish in industrialised countries is a complex and expensive operation. Under EU law, such equipment must be dismantled or recycled because of the toxic cocktail of substances contained within, including lead, mercury and arsenic. This has made the disposal of e-waste in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana a lucrative business although some western companies who profit from the practice are little more than racketeers. Traders have the choice of paying between £3 and £5 per unit to have equipment recycled legally, or receive £2-£3 per unit by selling it on to a third party in Africa or Asia categorised as ‘second-hand goods’.

Grave health risks

Greenpeace has reported that the young people working on dumps in developing counties often break down these discarded electronic items for parts, but in doing so are exposed to the poisonous chemicals they contain. Dumped technology can be equally hazardous for the people living nearby. In China, a sample of water from the river Lianjiang near to a “recycling centre” contained levels of lead 2,400 times above the standards recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Concerns over identity fraud

Aside from the obvious health risks associated with this illegal trafficking of IT equipment, Adrian Harding, policy advisor for waste management at the Environment Agency, also warns that the people buying the IT in developing countries could be getting ripped off:

“They could be paying upfront and expecting a ship full of working units, but receiving useless broken ones. Or they could be receiving enough working units in each ship to sell on and make a profit, dumping the rest. We are trying to work out who is making the money," he says.

Dumped IT also presents a data risk with criminals mining the IT they receive for personal details that can be used in identity fraud or spam lists.

Responsible recycling

Experts say companies need to put more effort into ensuring their old IT does not end up illegally dumped by checking that they use reputable recycling firms, buy products that adhere to EPEAT standards with low levels of toxic materials and continually audit the recycling process.

The government has launched a "No Dirty IT" campaign and is calling on businesses to change the way they procure and use IT to help prevent waste being dumped.