Context: In its recent report “Children and Digital Dumpsites” WHO has underlined the risk that children working in informal processing are facing due to discarded electronic devices or e-waste.

• Kids as young as five years, more than 12.9 million women work at e-waste dumpsites in low- and middle-income countries every year. Over 18 million kids at e-waste dumpsites face threat of health hazards : WHO.

Key Facts 

• More than 18 million children and adolescents working at e-waste dumpsites in low- and middel-income countries are potentially at the risk of severe health hazards.
• Children and Digital Dumpsites underlined the risk children working in the informal processing faced due to discarded electronic devices or e-waste.

What is the reason ?

• The e-waste from high-income countries is dumped in the middle- or low-income countries for processingE-waste Dumpsites and Child Health Hazards every year.
• This e-waste is dismantled and recycled by children.
• It contains over 1,000 precious metals and other substances like gold, copper, mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
• The processing is done in low-income countries, which do not have proper safeguarding regulation and which makes the process even more dangerous.
• They are preferred at these dumpsites because of their small and dexterous hands.

E-waste Dumpsites and Child Health Hazards

• Processing e-waste exposes workers/pregnant women as well as their children to these toxins which can lead to premature births and stillbirth.
• The hazardous impact of working at such sites is also experienced by families and communities.
• Children are particularly more exposed to the toxic chemicals used and released during the processing of e-waste.
• Children are more prone to improper lung function, deoxyribonucleic acid damage and increased risk of chronic diseases.

E-Waste Generation

• The volume of e-waste generated is surging rapidly across the globe.
• About 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste was generated in 2019, according to the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership.
• Only 17.4 per cent of this e-waste was processed in formal recycling facilities.
• The rest of it was dumped in low- or middle-income countries for illegal processing by informal workers.
• This is likely to increase in the coming years because of the rise in the number of smartphones and computers.