Chintan
Environmental Activists Expose Dangers of E-Waste
Posted by ap101
November 14, 2008, Delhi, India: In the streets of Mustaffabad, a poor quarter of Delhi, children in sandals sit on top of piles of broken glass and twisted metal, smashing computer monitors. Men with blowtorches melt circuit boards, while nearby, women sort and scrub other boards with diluted acid. Charred fiberglass and copper dust litter the ground.
This is the world of the electronic waste (e-waste) recyclers, who make a living by tearing apart the toxic remains of old home computers, cell phones and printer cartridges from the United States and other countries. India imported about 50,000 tons of e-waste last year, and e-waste employs about 25,000 people in Delhi.
Advocacy Project - Wastepicker Children Face Discrimination
Posted by ap101
Wastepickers scour through open trash bins for recyclable paper, metals, glass and plastics, which they then sell. According to Chintan, they account for almost 1 percent of Delhi's population and handle about 20 percent of the city's waste. They earn, on average, one or two dollars a day.
What is
NewsCloud?
» The most important stories from around the Web all in one place
» Gathered and ranked by a community of passionate readers surfing the Web 24 hours a day
» Ready to share: email stories, post news to your blog and keep up with your friends
Learn more
- Just Said
- Top Posters
There are no comments at this time.
- Just Said
- Top Posters
ap101
Member since Dec 2008
The Advocacy Project is a Washington, DC-based NGO. We seek to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice. AP works directly with a selected number of partner organizations and offer them services aimed at strengthening their information and advocacy.
- Related Topics
