Question

The e-wastes generated in the developed countries are exported to the developing countries because:

• A. Developing countries do not have proper recycling facilities
• B. Developed countries use manual labour to recycle e-wastes
• C. Developing countries extract expensive metals from the e-wastes and recycle them
• D. Developed countries do not have proper recycling facilities

Answer 1

The correct option is C Developing countries extract expensive metals from the e-wastes and recycle them

E-wastes refer to ‘electronic wastes’ and include discarded electronic items such as batteries, mobile phones, computers, etc. e-wastes contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals(cadmium, mercury, etc) which are hazardous for human health as well as the environment. The best way to get rid of e-wastes is to recycle the waste items in an eco-friendly way.
E-wastes generated by developed nations are often exported to developing nations such as India, China, etc. These countries extract expensive metals such as gold, nickel, silicon, copper, etc from the wastes and reuse them, saving money on the procurement of these expensive raw materials. But in developing countries, recycling is mostly done manually by labourers which exposes them to the risk of handling toxic chemicals in the e-wastes.