First broadcast December 2006
Vast amounts of waste are exported daily from the industrialised world to developing countries - all in the name of recycling.
But much of this trade is illegal, dangerous and environmentally disastrous to the countries who receive it.
Liz Carney travels to India, Nigeria, Czech Republic and the USA to lift the lid on the multi billion dollar trade that dumps western waste on some of the world's poorest nations.
Part Two: E-waste in Nigeria
The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that worldwide, 20 to 50 million tons of electronics, computers and other techno junk is discarded each year, increasingly ending up dumped in developing countries.
Liz Carney reports from Lagos, Nigeria, where some 400,000 second hand computers, three quarters of which cannot be re-used, are imported every month.
The discarded machines, many from Europe and the US, are dumped, sometimes in burning heaps, on roadsides and waste land in Lagos, with toxins leaching into the air and the water table.
The Nigerian authorities are becoming increasingly alarmed by the trade, asking why this e-waste is not recycled in its own country.
Next in this series:Illegal dumping in the Czech Republic
Terms of Use
The BBC Podcasts are for your personal non-commercial use only.
All title, ownership rights and intellectual property rights in and to the BBC Podcasts shall remain the property of the BBC or third parties.
You may not edit, alter, adapt or add to the BBC Podcast in any way.
The BBC Podcasts are made available by the BBC on an "as is" and "as available" basis and the BBC gives no warranty of any kind in relation to the BBC Podcast.
To the maximum extent permitted by law the BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage which you may suffer as a result of or connected to the download or use of the BBC Podcasts
See the full BBC Podcast: Standard Licence Terms here.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
