ToxiCity: life at Agbobloshie, the world's largest e-waste dump in Ghana

E-waste, the term given to discarded electronic appliances, is often shipped by developed nations to poorer countries such as Ghana. RTD visits the country's most infamous dumping ground, Agbogbloshie. Locals call it “Sodom and Gomorrah” after the infamous Biblical sin cities. Its air and soil are polluted with toxic chemicals, while extreme poverty, child labour and criminal gangs are also rife. Learn more https://rtd.rt.com/films/toxicity/ RTD WEBSITE: https://RTD.rt.com/ RTD ON TWITTER: http://twitter.com/RT_DOC RTD ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/RTDocumentary RTD ON DAILYMOTION http://www.dailymotion.com/rt_doc RTD ON INSTAGRAM http://instagram.com/rt_documentary/ RTD LIVE http://rtd.rt.com/on-air/

Comments

1. It's all corrupt.
   My only hope is that the girl gets out of there when she gets a chance.
2. Incredibly sad just makes me cry God help Africans, it's hard for Africans to change their lives when their governments are corrupt, I hope the young woman can make a future for herself but I don't feel very hopeful.......
3. Lol 😂🤣9.55 🐐 goat is shitting itself
4. E-waste dump? More like worlds largest recycling facility!
5. Russia doesn't have any e-waste eh? haha
6. People burn garbage in my street all day fucking stupid people i hate them
7. there we go, Viktor Shaffer with that beautiful german-english accent. every expert video needs to have one of those guys
8. I just threw out an old tv so that those poor kids can harvest it.
9. All black dominated countries are in shambles. Don't ever let your country get dark, or your children will be doing what these do.
10. oh wow a white man complaining in africa about africans making a living for themselves because they are not asking yall for no money its an issue he needs to go back to Germany.talking about them not paying taxes but they are feeding themselves and they know its toxic but while his white ass complaining help use your whitness to create a cleaner solution without taking a way for these ppl to feed themselves away
11. youd think theyd be savin the fumes and gas. shit is a dank high to huff
12. they complain yet they choose to live in this filth. Don't give me any flak about opportunity. the tribes of africa do just fine in the bush. stick to what you know if you can't navigate the real world. people complain about climate change. these people are happy to work in filth and continue to contribute to it. I am ashamed to say it but we are parasites look at what we are doing to this earth. how could you be so ignorant to continue to work in this place?
13. what's the problem? all I see is good fashioned ingenuity. these african folks had a problem - no money. Companies had a problem - old tech worth nothing to them. so they made a win-win - send the old tech to these folks, they process it and get money. If they were smart they'd process it proper and reap the benefits of having jobs. but no they are just dum and burn it hahah.
14. PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU JUDGE. THANK YOU.
    Agbogbloshie is a former wetland and suburb of Accra, Ghana, known as a destination for locally generated used electronics from the City of Accra. It has been alleged to be at the center of a legal and illegal exportation network for the environmental dumping of electronic waste (e-waste) from industrialized nations. Basel Action Network, a small NGO based in Seattle, has referred to Agbogbloshie as a "digital dumping ground", where they allege millions of tons of e-waste are processed each year.[1][2] However, repeated international studies have failed to confirm the allegations, which have been labelled an "e-waste hoax" by international reuse advocate WR3A. The most exhaustive study of the trade in used electronics, funded by UNEP and Basel Convention (Ghanaian E-Waste Assessment and Nigerian E-Waste Assessment), revealed that from 261 sea containers of electronics assessed at African ports, 91% of the material was reused.[3]
    
    According to statistics from the World Bank, in large cities like Accra and Lagos the majority of households have owned televisions and computers for decades.[4] The UN Report "Where are WEEE in Africa" (2012) disclosed that the majority of used electronics found in African dumps had not in fact been recently imported as scrap, but originated from these African cities.[5] Agbogbloshie is situated on the banks of the Korle Lagoon, northwest of Accra's Central Business District.[6][7] Roughly 40,000 Ghanaians inhabit the area, most of whom are migrants from rural areas.[1][6] Due to its harsh living conditions and rampant crime, the area is nicknamed "Sodom and Gomorrah".[8]
    
    The Basel Convention prevents the transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries. However, the Convention specifically allows export for reuse and repair under Annex Ix, B1110. While numerous international press reports have made reference to allegations that the majority of exports to Ghana are dumped, research by the US International Trade Commission found little evidence of unprocessed e-waste being shipped to Africa from the United States,[9] a finding corroborated by the UN Environmental Programme, MIT, Memorial University, Arizona State University, and other research.[10] In 2013, the original source of the allegation blaming foreign dumping for the material found in Agbogbloshie recanted, or rather stated it had never made the claim that 80% of US e-waste is exported.[11]
    
    Whether domestically generated by residents of Ghana or imported, concern remains over methods of waste processing - especially burning - which emit toxic chemicals into the air, land and water. Exposure is especially hazardous to children, as these toxins are known to inhibit the development of the reproductive system, the nervous system, and especially the brain. Concerns about human health and the environment of Agbogbloshie continue to be raised as the area remains heavily polluted.[6][12][13] In the 2000s, the Ghanaian government, with new funding and loans, implemented the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP), an environmental remediation and restoration project that will address the pollution problem by dredging the lagoon and Odaw canal to improve drainage and flooding into the ocean.
15. This is so sad. Even on our worst days in the United States and other more privileged countries most of us will never have to deal with the evil and apathy of places like this. I'm definitely on the poor side of the spectrum but feel guiltily happy that things for me will never get this bad.
16. These are some hard working souls. I wish we had more people like this here. It's a damn shame they have to live in these retch ed conditions. They work hard and deserve better.
17. o wow tat is reley bad
18. It's Meteor City's inspiration from HxH
19. Burning electronics for money? This area must've been Techrax's birthplace!
20. and here we are, complain about our countries...