GLOBAL CRIME & E-WASTE

INTERPOL produces report on the links between organized crime and electronic waste disposal

07 July 2009


INTERPOL has published a new report entitled Electronic Waste and Organized Crime: Assessing the Links, aimed at all persons concerned with environmental crime.

Electronic waste (e-waste) is the collective term for all the pre-owned products such as computers and televisions discarded by our modern consumer society. As these products often contain hazardous chemicals and metals, the management and appropriate disposal of e-waste is regulated by national and international laws and agreements in order to minimize the risk of damage to human health and the environment. However, due to the stringent regulations in the European Union and Americas these products are often shipped to other countries in order to avoid expensive recycling and disposal costs. If handled inappropriately, e-waste can release poisonous or hazardous materials into the environment or water supplies, posing a serious health threat to communities.

Prepared by the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme and its Pollution Crime Working Group, this report represents a milestone in their efforts to develop global and multi-sector responses to the many issues surrounding the illegal e-waste trade and the levels of criminal organization behind them.

"This report is an important resource for environmental enforcement agencies and national police agencies worldwide. It will help raise awareness of the scale of the e-waste problem, and provide a springboard for global action in the fight against pollution crime", said the Manager of the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme, David Higgins.