US FIRMS CAUGHT OUT?

US company’s unsafe waste disposal exposed

18 Sep 2008 | 13:42 BST

By Emma Hughes

Dirty rotten liars

SHOCKINGLY – or not as the case may be – some major US companies have been exposed as filthy fibbers.

That’s right, US companies which claim to be all green by using environmental recycling to get rid of electronic waste – wait for it – actually aren’t.

If that didn’t shock you this certainly will... the company’s in question are actually dumping their waste – which includes mobile phones, old computers and televisions – in other countries such as China and India where disposal in this way is dangerous to people as well as the environment.

This despicable information comes from a report issued by the Government Accountability Office today which claims, among other things, that the US Environmental Protection Agency is doing a rubbish job.

America's harmful waste regulations have not deterred exports of potentially hazardous used electronics according to the GAO which outlines three main reasons for this in the report.

Existing EPA regulations focus specifically on cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) and the safe disposal of these, and companies have found cunning ways to get around the CRT rule and of course, the EPA’s enforcement is lacking any kind of… well, force.

The GAO also found that the dismantling of these electronics was unsafe, using open-air incineration and acid baths to extract valuable metals.

Bad as this is, it seems like little can be done to stop it. The GAO suggests that beyond reinforcing the CRT rule, the EPA should concentrate far more on the safe disposal of the other universe of harmful electronics being dumped all over the Asian countryside.

For the last shocker of the day, we bring you the EPA’s response which claims that a "complete and balanced picture of the agency’s electronic waste program" had not been outlined in the report - although, to be honest, I think we’ve probably heard enough. µ

© 2007 Incisive Media Investments Ltd. 2007