Creating A Better World

Electronic waste, or e-waste as it is commonly referred to, is unwanted, obsolete, or unusable electronic products such as computers and computer peripherals, televisions, VCRs, DVD players, stereo equipment, and hand-held cell phones. 

A typical 17-inch computer monitor contains approximately 2.2 pounds of lead while a 27-inch color television contains up to 8 pounds of lead. The 500 million computers that became obsolete between 1997 and 2007  contained nearly 1.6 billion pounds of lead.

Even though there is an international treaty banning the export of hazardous waste, the United States is one of only a few countries which have not ratified it.  Other countries which refuse to comply include Haiti and Afghanistan.

In “Digital Dumping Ground,” airing Tuesday, June 23, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. ET on PBS, Peter Klein and his team expose an industry that is polluting the environment and poisoning the people who live and work among the waste, scavenging for scrap metals.  CLICK HERE for local listings