Question

The issue with recycling e-waste in developing countries is/are that

• A. it pollutes the soil
• B. it is not environment friendly
• C. it is done manually and exposes workers to toxic substances
• D. Both a and c

Answer 1

The correct option is C it is done manually and exposes workers to toxic substances

E-wastes or ‘electronic wastes’ include discarded electronic items such as batteries, mobile phones, computers, etc. These wastes contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, etc) which are fatal for humans and also pollute the soil. The best way to get rid of e-wastes is to recycle the waste items in an environment-friendly way.
Most developed countries have well-equipped facilities for proper recycling of e-waste. But, half of the e-wastes generated by developed nations are often exported to developing nations such as India, China, etc which extract expensive metals such as gold, nickel, silicon, copper, etc. from the wastes during the recycling process. This is mostly done manually by labourers, which exposes them to the toxic chemicals present in e-wastes. This is one of the major issues with recycling e-waste in developing countries.