Do anything, just get it out of sight

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GREENPEACE estimates about 4,000 tons of e-waste is discarded every hour globally. When it's thrown away, where does it end up? Here are some of them:

Landfills

Toxic chemicals in electronic products can leak into the soil over time or be released into the atmosphere, affecting local communities and the environment. Many European countries have regulations to prevent electronic waste being dumped in landfills due to its hazardous content. However, the practice still continues in many countries.

Incinerators

This releases heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury into the air, as well as toxic ash. Mercury released into the atmosphere can pollute the food chain, particularly fish.

Reuse

This is a good way to increase a product's lifespan. Many old products are exported to developing countries. Although the benefits of reusing electronics in this way are clear, the practice is causing serious problems. Old products are dumped after only being used for a short period of time. They are discarded in areas that don't have hazardous waste disposal facilities.

Recycling

In developed countries, electronics recycling takes place in purpose-built recycling plants under controlled conditions. In many EU states, for example, plastics from e-waste are not recycled to avoid poisonous smoke. In developing countries, however, there are no such controls. Recycling is done by hand in rubbish heaps.

Exporting

E-waste is exported by developed countries to developing ones, often against international laws. That's because labour cost is less expensive in developing countries and the laws are less strict.

In the UK, at least 23,000 metric tons of electronic waste was illegally shipped to India, Africa and China in 2003. In the US, it is estimated that 50-80 per cent of the waste collected for recycling is exported in this way.

China tried to prevent this trade by banning e-waste imports in 2000. However, Greenpeace have discovered that the laws are not working so well.