Oegugin

Je sais pas si les gars de Shanghaiist hallucinent ou s’ils ont raison, mais s’ils ont raison c’est horrible: ils disent que depuis longtemps, jusqu’à 80% des déchets du monde développé se retrouvent en Chine! Ça peut ben être pollué, sacrament! Bon, je vois, on parle des déchets électroniques, comme les vieux ordis. En Chine, des gens font ensuite brûler ça pour récupérer le métal en faisant fondre le plastique, ce qui s’avère une méthode extrêmement polluante… Je cite Shanghaiist:

“China has long been the dumping ground for much of the developed world’s trash, of which electronic waste is one of the fastest growing problems. Some reports estimate that as much as 80% of the world’s tech trash ends up in China. Most of this ends up in the hands of black market recyclers who burn and melt e-waste as a crude and toxic way to separate plastic parts from precious metal components.”

Et le site Worldwatch:
“While it is difficult to estimate how many discarded computers, mobile phones, and other electronics flood into mainland China each year, a 2002 report from the Basel Action Network and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimated that 80 percent of the world’s high-tech trash is exported to Asia, and 90 percent of this flows into China. Most of it ends up at family recycling workshops, where laborers disassemble the electronics manually for reclaimable materials. Wearing little protective gear, they are exposed to heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury, and to toxic compounds such as acids, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs, common flame retardants).”

C’est donc très toxique pour les travailleurs, et voyez maintenant les pauvres rivières: l’eau du robinet pouvait bien goûter dégueulasse, à Shanghai! Worldwatch:

“A closer look at some of China’s e-waste disasters reveals that commonly used recycling practices can harm the environment more than the waste itself. Investigations by Greenpeace found that workers often use acid baths to dissolve the lead, silver, and other metals contained in the electronics, washing the residues directly into nearby rivers and other water bodies. Components that cannot be recycled are sent to landfills or burned in the open, releasing additional toxins into the environment.”

La bonne nouvelle, c’est que Shanghaiist parle de ça dans le contexte de l’ouverture d’un centre de recyclage professionnel à Shanghai, qui s’occupera entre autres des déchets électroniques. Yééé!