31 images Created 30 May 2011
TV chase in Lagos - Britian's export of e-waste.
An old TV was rendered useless and fitted with a tracker device by Greenpeace and Sky News and dumped at a recycling site in Basingstoke, UK. The site is managed for Hampshire County Council by a firm called Hopkins. The TV was then tracked by Greenpeace from England to Lagos in Nigeria. The export of useless electronic goods is considered export of electronic waste - and is illegal according to the Basel Convention, signed by Britain.
Lagos is a city with a population of 15 million plus - and the harbour in Lagos is one of the most busy in West Africa with hundreds of containers being off-loaded everyday. The TV arrived in Lagos in container no 4629416 and was tracked from Tin Can Container terminal to Alaba International Market. The container and TV was identified and the TV purchased by Greenpeace campainer Eric Albertsen to bring it back to its maker - Philips. An estimated 10-15 containers full of electronics arrive every day at Alaba Market, - with 5-700 TVs each. About 30% of these do not work - and of these 70% are beyond repair according to Igwe Chenadu, chairman of the Alaba Technicians Association. This means that more than one thousand tvs beyond repair arrive at the market every day
These images document the chase for the broken tv in Lagos and some of the impact e-wate has on life in Nigeria. The tv is now back in London, in the studios of Sky News.
Greenpeace is calling on manufacturers of electronic goods to put in place take back schemes to ensure electronic waste is dealt with safely.
Lagos is a city with a population of 15 million plus - and the harbour in Lagos is one of the most busy in West Africa with hundreds of containers being off-loaded everyday. The TV arrived in Lagos in container no 4629416 and was tracked from Tin Can Container terminal to Alaba International Market. The container and TV was identified and the TV purchased by Greenpeace campainer Eric Albertsen to bring it back to its maker - Philips. An estimated 10-15 containers full of electronics arrive every day at Alaba Market, - with 5-700 TVs each. About 30% of these do not work - and of these 70% are beyond repair according to Igwe Chenadu, chairman of the Alaba Technicians Association. This means that more than one thousand tvs beyond repair arrive at the market every day
These images document the chase for the broken tv in Lagos and some of the impact e-wate has on life in Nigeria. The tv is now back in London, in the studios of Sky News.
Greenpeace is calling on manufacturers of electronic goods to put in place take back schemes to ensure electronic waste is dealt with safely.
