Electronic waste is becoming an increasing problem worldwide and Africa has become the dumping ground.

The Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) Initiative has predicted that e-waste will grow by a third between 2012 and 2017. Seven kilograms of e-waste was produced per person on the planet in 2012, reaching a total of 48.9 million tonnes.StEP estimates that this will rise to 65.4 million tonnes in 2017 – equivalent to the weight of 11 Great Pyramids of Giza.

A study by the United Nations University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that shortened consumer electronics life cycles and the sharp increase in new electronics is responsible for the increase in e-waste.

A large portion of the e- waste generated in the US and Europe is repaired and resold to Africa, where it is re-used before being informally recycled. This recycling usually involves burningthe electronics to remove metals like copper and aluminium from the unwanted hardware. However this process releases hazardous chemicals that can poison people as well as cause water and air pollution.

The most common types of e-waste shipped out of the United States are mobile phones, televisions and computer monitors. According to Jeremy Gregory, co-author of the MIT report, a lot of this e-waste travels illegally to developing countries. Most of it ends up in landfills where it is treated as general refuse. As a result, heavy metals, dioxins and other polluting and carcinogenic compounds are released during its processing.

StEP executive secretary Ruediger Kuehr says that the governments of developing countries still do not pay enough attention to the rising problem. However, several large corporations are working towards tackling the problem.  Dell has partnered with e-Waste Solutions Alliance for Africa in Kenya to improve recycling. As a result, approximately 40 collection points have beenset up where people can sell e-waste to groups equipped to dispose of it.