Britain's e-waste illegally leaking into West Africa

In Britain each year, we throw away a million tonnes of electronic waste - enough to fill Wembley Stadium six times over. So what happens to our broken TVs and computers - our e-waste - once we have dumped it? Raphael Rowe reports from Ghana.
When he turns his hand over, 10-year-old Mohammed reveals the deep open cut on his thumb, visible through the black soot that covers his small hands. Two other cuts have been covered up with blackened, filthy plasters.
He tells me that the wounds are from the sharp copper wire that he is scavenging from the biggest digital graveyard in Africa.
The Agbogbloshie dumpsite is where the poorest of nearby Accra stream in order to scrape out a living from the tons of electrical waste piled here.

UK ELECTRONICS BUYING 2010 UK consumers bought more than 17 million TVs and computers Computer sales: 8.2 million Television sales: 9.5 million Source: GFK retail and technology UK

Alfred, 12, said he has no choice but to eke out a living at the dumpsite since his mother died. He complained of headaches from the toxic fumes as he and the others use their hands, hammers and fire to extract precious metals from the scrap heap.
Activists told me the nearby river is dead owing to the contamination from this crude form of recycling.
And, they add, much of this electronic garbage - known as e-waste - originates in the UK.
Mike Anane is a campaigner with the League of Environmental Journalists which is trying to stop e-waste pouring into Ghana.
"We are destroying the lives of children, we are destroying the environment, the rivers no longer have fish, just because of the illegal shipments and dumping of electronic waste from the UK," he said.
Tracking devices
It is estimated that 100,000 tons of e-waste is leaking out of the UK each year via the ports that see seven million containers exported each year.

There needs to be a lot more enforcement, but there also needs to be a shake-up of how we handle electronic waste in the UK Environmental Investigation Agency campaign group

A confidential report obtained by Panorama suggests that 77% of e-waste from England and Wales ends up in West Africa, primarily Ghana and Nigeria.
Environmental law states that broken electronics, everything from fridges to televisions to computer monitors, should be responsibly recycled within the UK. Discarded electronics need to be tested to ensure they work before they can be legally exported for resale, usually to the developing world. Continued