Haunting photos of a village built to handle electronic waste
By Michael Cooney,
Network World |
June 10, 2014
Stripped computers and air-conditioners are part of daily Chinese village life.
Reuters calls it a hub for electronic rubbish. That would be Dongxiaokou village, which sits on the outskirts of Beijing in China. Here all manner of e-waste is sent to be stripped for recycling or just plain scrap. Dongxiaokou’s residents grapple with poor infrastructure and sanitation facilities, in addition to dangers associated with handling e-waste. The village is now facing demolition and residents are worried about losing their homes and work, according to Reuters. China is now the planet’s second biggest producer of it, only behind the United States, according to information from a 2013 environmental conference.
A woman sleeps in a shop which sells recycled electronic goods at Yaojiayuan village in Beijing.
A woman walks near mounds of garbage, which were abandoned by recycling workers, at Dongxiaokou village in Beijing.
Broken fridges are seen in the yard of a recycling workers' tenement house.
A recycling worker moves air-conditioning units in the yard of her tenement house at Dongxiaokou village. Those in the business in Dongxiaokou grapple with poor infrastructure and sanitation facilities, in addition to dangers associated with handling e-waste, Reuters says.
A puppy stands next to parts of dismantled electronic goods in the yard of a recycling workers' tenement house at Dongxiaokou village.
A recycling worker holds wires which she collected from a dismantled microwave.
The yard of a tenement house is reflected in a broken television set.
A recycling worker stands in the yard of a tenement house.
A worker looks at a broken piano.
A woman dismantles a broken air-conditioning unit to sell its parts as scrap.
Recycling worker Gu Zhaofang is seen behind a blind as she speaks on her mobile phone.
Laundry is hung out to dry in the yard of a recycling workers' tenement house.
Recycling workers play poker in Dongxiaokou village.
A garbage collector carries a sack of items abandoned by recycling workers.
A recycling worker moves an air-conditioning unit.
A man counts his money after selling recycled air-conditioning units to a vendor.
China of course isn’t the only nation struggling with e-waste. Here we see workers sort out parts of discarded computers and other electronics for recycling at the East African Compliant Recycling facility in Athi River near Kenya's capital Nairobi.
An employee dismantles parts of discarded computers and other electronics for recycling at the East African Compliant Recycling.
An employee carries discarded computers and other electronics for recycling at the East African Compliant Recycling.
