News: Environment & ICTs, Africa

Waste not, want not: Used computers to Africa recycled with care

CALGARY 15 April 2009 (LC for APCNews)

In the past decade, a new type of environmental threat has begun to appear on the radar: e-waste. Well-intentioned citizens from Europe and North America have been happily handing over their used electronic goods to be recycled or resold; however, these items often end up in electronic landfills, such as the one featured in this short CNN documentary. Organisations like APC member Computer Aid International work to help quality and functional second-hand electronics make their way to schools and IT training centres in emerging economies, like the Iya Abubakar Resource Center in Nigeria. CNN’s Christian Purefoy explores the growing problem of e-waste and how organisations like Computer Aid are taking this “waste” and helping empower students, businessmen and women in the countries most affected by e-waste.

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