Nairobi, Kenya
A top international environmental official warned this week that Africa was getting buried under a "growing mountain of e-waste." Achim Steiner, who heads the United Nations Environment Program, said Africa has become the dumping ground for the world's discarded computers, mobile phones, and other electronic gadgets. These products contain hazardous chemicals and heavy metals that can leach into the environment if they are not disposed of properly, which is why many countries pay African nations to bury their discarded computers. Vast quantities of electronic waste used to end up in China and India, but as those countries have tightened their regulations, more of it is landing in Africa. Steiner said that at least 100,000 broken computers a month are entering the Nigerian port of Lagos alone.
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