Oct 24, 2009

Guiyu and 1.5 million tons of e-waste (15 pics)

It's as much as 10 times cheaper to export the waste to developing countries for the United States, as safety rules skyrocket domestic disposal costs, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

E-Waste in Guiyu (15 pics)
Guiyu is the largest electronic waste (e-waste) site on earth, according to wikipedia. Since late 1980s a lot of e-waste from overseas has been imported to China and dismantled at Guiyu. 

The state-run newspaper the Peoples Daily said in 2006 that Guiyus more than 5,500 e-waste business employed over 30,000 people.
According to the local government Web site, city businesses process 1.5 million tons of e-waste a year, pulling in $75 million in revenue.

As much as 80 percent of it comes from overseas.