{"id":948,"date":"2005-09-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-09-27T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/master.k8s.p4.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/press\/948\/toxic-tech-looming-e-waste-problems-for-thailand-and-philippines\/"},"modified":"2019-11-06T17:05:21","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T09:05:21","slug":"toxic-tech-looming-e-waste-problems-for-thailand-and-philippines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/story\/948\/toxic-tech-looming-e-waste-problems-for-thailand-and-philippines\/","title":{"rendered":"TOXIC TECH: Looming e-waste problems for Thailand and Philippines"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t28 September 2005 – Greenpeace today warned that Thailand and the Philippines face a looming electronic waste problem which is compounded by the lack of international legal protection because the two countries have not ratified the Basel Ban, which prohibits industrialized nations from dumping hazardous materials into third world countries.\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/span>
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n Electronic waste at the Smokey Mountain garbage dump in Manila. Greenpeace today warned of a looming e-waste problem in the Philippines which can pose health and environmental risks. Electronic waste is the fastest growing component in the global waste stream amounting to 20 to 50 million tons worldwide with Asia contributing about 12 million tons a year.\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/span>
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n Electronic waste at the Smokey Mountain garbage dump in Manila. Greenpeace today warned of a looming e-waste problem in the Philippines which can pose health and environmental risks. Electronic waste is the fastest growing component in the global waste stream amounting to 20 to 50 million tons worldwide with Asia contributing about 12 million tons a year.\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/span>
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n A stack of computer monitors at a donation centre awaiting auction purchase from scrap dealers & used computer dealers. Greenpeace today warned of a looming e-waste problem in Thailand which can pose health and environmental risks. Electronic waste is the fastest growing component in the global waste stream amounting to 20 to 50 million tons worldwide with Asia contributing about 12 million tons a year.\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/span>
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n Mother and child with electronic scraps. Greenpeace today warned of a looming e-waste problem in Thailand which can pose health and environmental risks. Electronic waste is the fastest growing component in the global waste stream amounting to 20 to 50 million tons worldwide with Asia contributing about 12 million tons a year.\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The booming consumption of electronic and electrical goods –
\nparticularly PCs and mobile phones —\u00a0 in the Philippines and
\nThailand has created a corresponding explosion in electronic scrap
\ncontaining toxic, persistent chemicals and heavy metals, according
\nto the new Greenpeace report entitled “Toxic Tech: Pulling the Plug
\non Dirty Electronics in Southeast Asia”.\u00a0 The report, details how
\nthe growing volume of e-waste is affecting the region, and the
\nenvironmental and health consequences from toxic electronic
\ncomponents to which its poor workers are being exposed to.<\/p>\n

Every year, obsolete and discarded electronic products account
\nfor 20 to 50 million tons of the world’s hazardous waste, 12
\nmillion tons of which come from Asia(1).<\/p>\n

“There is no question that the world has benefited immensely
\nfrom the rapid developments in the electronics industry. But most
\npeople remain unaware of the negative health and environmental
\nimpacts associated with the disposal of electronic products,” said
\nBeau Baconguis, Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner in Manila. “Many
\ncountries, including the Philippines and Thailand, are unprepared
\nto deal with the negative health and environmental impacts brought
\nabout by the disposal of large volumes of toxic trash which the
\nelectronics industry has generated.”<\/p>\n

THAILAND<\/p>\n

\u00a0Thailand imported approximately 28 million mobile phones from
\n2000 to 2003. In 2003 alone, 42 million mobile phone batteries were
\nimported into the country representing a 43 increase from 2002. In
\nthe first quarter of 2005, Thailand had more than 2.6 million
\ncomputer units or about 15.5 computers for every 100 households, a
\nsharp increase from the previous figure of 11.7 computers per 100
\nhouseholds for the same period in 2004. (2)<\/p>\n

In addition, figures from Thai government agencies indicate that
\nbetween February 2004 and May 2005, more than 265 thousand tons of
\nused electronics entered Thailand from countries like Japan, Hong
\nKong, Korea and Singapore.\u00a0 In 2003, the total e-waste waste
\nproduced within the country was around 58,000 tons.\u00a0 The amount of
\nelectronic waste in the Kingdom is projected to increase at a rate
\nof 12% each year, and an estimated 3 million pieces of electronic
\nwaste will be produced in 2006.\u00a0 (3)<\/p>\n

PHILIPPINES<\/p>\n

In the Philippines, electronics manufacturing is the country’s
\ntop export industry and electronic goods the top import.\u00a0 At this
\npresent level of production, use, and importation, the country is
\nfaced with a mounting e-waste problem. This problem is aggravated
\nby the high obsolescence rates of electronic goods. The average
\nlifespan of a computer is currently from 3 to 5 years while a
\nmobile phone lasts for an average of 18 months.<\/p>\n

Recent statistics point to a surge in computers, mobile phones,
\nand ultimately E-waste, in the country. Shipments of personal
\ncomputers to the Philippines were estimated to reach 426,521 units
\nin 2004 alone, and is projected to reach close to half a million
\nunits by the end of the year(4).\u00a0 Meanwhile, the number of cellular
\nphone users was recorded at 18 million in 2003 and at its current
\nprojected rate of increase is expected to reach more than 25
\nmillion units by end 2005(5). \u00a0<\/p>\n

HMR Namrac, one of the biggest importers of used computers in
\nthe country pegs their imports of used computers at 1,000 to 2000
\nunits per month. According to them, only about 10% is usable while
\nthe rest is being scrapped for parts that can still be used for
\nrefurbishing. HMR Philippines also receives 8-10 tons of E-wastes
\ndaily and is mostly sourced locally(6). \u00a0<\/p>\n

Because of the lack of proper measures for E-waste disposal in
\nthe Philippines, the discarded technology is incinerated, dumped in
\nlandfills, or end up with backyard recyclers, exposing workers,
\npoor communities, and the environment to poisonous heavy metals
\nsuch as lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and halogenated
\nsubstances such as\u00a0 brominated flame retardants (BFR), and
\npolyvinyl chloride (PVC).<\/p>\n

The operations of the country’s few existing recycling
\nfacilities are also unregulated, and their environmental practices
\nquestionable, as in the case of Clean Earth Solutions International
\nwho admitted to Greenpeace researchers that they process computer
\nwastes via a thermal plant which is actually an incinerator,
\nviolating the Clean Air Act as well as the Ecological Solid Waste
\nManagement Act.<\/p>\n

MOUNTING PROBLEM<\/p>\n

The rate at which these mountains of obsolete electronic
\nproducts are growing will reach crisis proportions unless
\nelectronics corporations that profit from making and selling these
\ndevices face up to their responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Greenpeace is campagning for the top mobile phone and computer
\ncompanies worldwide to clean up their act. Companies such as
\nSamsung, Nokia, LG Electronics, Sony and Sony Ericsson have made
\ncommitments to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals such as PVC
\nand brominated flame retardants in the manufacturing of their
\nproducts. Motorola is the latest to join the list of companies in
\ncommitting to substitute these harmful substances with safer
\nalternatives.<\/p>\n

Other companies like Dell, IBM\/Lenovo, HP, Siemens, Acer,
\nToshiba, Panasonic, Fujitsu-Siemens and Apple have so far, failed
\nto commit.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“The solution to toxic e-waste is in the hands of
\nmanufacturers. Companies must stop using toxic components in their
\nproducts and establish take-back systems. Thailand and the
\nPhilippines should also ratify the Basel Ban. Otherwise, the
\nmountains of e-waste that now exist in China and India may be a
\nreality in our own region sooner than we think,” said Kittikhun
\nKittiaram, Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner in Bangkok.<\/p>\n

FOR MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n

Beau Baconguis, Toxics Campaigner, +63 917 803 6077<\/p>\n

Kittikhun Kittiaram, Toxics Campaigner, +66 1 3721149<\/p>\n

Arthur Jones Dionio, Regional Media Campaigner, +66 1
\n9254835<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

1)United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2005. E-waste,
\nthe hidden side of IT equipment’s manufacturing and use. Early
\nwarning on Emerging Environmental Threats, No. 5. Cited in:
\nGreenpeace International Report. May 2005. Toxic Tech: Pulling the
\nPlug on Dirty Electronics. 2)National Statistical Office. “Amount
\nof IT equipment in households in Q1\/2005” (in Thai),
\nhttp:\/\/service.nso.go.th\/nso\/data\/data23\/stat_23\/toc_15\/15.4-2-148.xls,
\nand “Amount of IT equipment in households in Q1\/2004” (in
\nThai),http:\/\/service.nso.go.th\/nso\/data\/data23\/stat_23\/toc_15\/15.4-14-147.xls
\n3)Pollution Control Department and JETRO (Bangkok). 2004.
\nInvestigation on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in
\nThailand: Conducted by Kokusai Kokyo (Thailand) Co., Ltd. June
\n2004. 4)International Data Corporation (www.idc.com)
\n5)http:\/\/www.digitalphilippines.org\/itphil_fullarticle.php?id=181
\n6)Parayno, Phares. 2004. Environmental requirements, market access
\nand competitiveness in the electronics sector: The Case of the
\nPhilippines. Project on Building Capacity for Improved Policy
\nMaking and Negotiation on Key Trade and Environment Issues) United
\nNations Conference on Trade and Development).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n\t28 September 2005 – Greenpeace today warned that Thailand and the Philippines face a looming electronic waste problem which is compounded by the lack of international legal protection because the two countries have not ratified the Basel Ban, which prohibits industrialized nations from dumping hazardous materials into third world countries.\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[17],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society","tag-pollution","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":954,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions\/954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}