Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    cct001 started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    28
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 10 Times in 6 Posts

    This is an interesting article I thought I would share

    Looooooong time reader. Over 6 years. Rare poster.
    Chris Telschow from Houston Texas.

    Here is the link. ( Replace [DOT] with . )

    www
    [DOT]

    wired

    [DOT]

    com/story/international-electronic-waste-photographs/

    See what y'all think. I believe the soon to be author / photographer is completely on the wrong side of this story.


  2. #2
    mikeinreco's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2011
    Location
    TENNESSEE
    Posts
    4,972
    Thanks
    1,257
    Thanked 5,023 Times in 2,350 Posts
    Seen many a picture/article like this before.......The conditions are terrible but I guess at least they get some type of work and appears in the one picture the guy is paying for their services......E-scrap/waste is a very dirty job and since I do basically the same thing here in the states i don't have much sympathy for them.......True I probably earn a much better wage than they do but I can't help the situation I was born into

  3. #3
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    1,306
    Thanks
    3,232
    Thanked 1,922 Times in 785 Posts
    The photography is terrific. Really amazing image composition. In my read this is a call to recycle. Yeah recycling but not as devestating as mining. And having been a longtime supporter of labor rights internationally, I'm down to do whatever I can to help improve labor conditions with others in the industry no matter where located.

  4. #4
    RLS0812's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Bucks County Pennsylvania
    Posts
    895
    Thanks
    155
    Thanked 633 Times in 358 Posts
    [Working Link]
    I wonder why no one goes down there and buys the CPUs, RAM, and other parts for cheap, than ship them directly to the refiner's .

  5. #5
    cct001 started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    28
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 10 Times in 6 Posts
    Thanks for adding the working link RLS0812.

    I was more under the impression that if this author traveled the world for 7 years studying these sites and researched enough to write a book he would know things like..

    Pic 1-There is nothing left of value on that tube tv. No reason to smash open
    Pic 4- No way they are melting boards
    Pic 5-I see no melted board. Maybe slightly depopulated.
    Pic 9- Scrapping more likely than repairing.

    Please correct me if I missed something in those.

    My opinion is that many of these are simple pics of recycling companies with a few actual landfill pictures mixed in.

    These people are recycling E-scrap.

  6. #6
    Breakage's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Aug 2016
    Posts
    297
    Thanks
    242
    Thanked 273 Times in 149 Posts
    It's more of this first-world guilt, with us wringing our hands and moaning softly at subtly racist imagery that allows us to expunge our actual concerns about solid waste and exploitation and replace them with digital pity. And for Wired to run it is like a slap in the face. That whole rag is run by adspace basically threatening you with social pariahdom for not conspicuously consuming every new chunk of crap you will need to buy to stay in touch with Facebook trolls and Amazon Prime.

    A recycler I spoke to once indicated this kind of journalism was more or less constantly recycled from a single story a few years ago about Ghana which had since been debunked. He claimed that the overarching industry figures like Apple and HP were in favor of shredding in order to preserve brand identity and prevent refurbishment outside of their operations and to that end, they would often nudge stories like this into the limelight in order to discredit recycling which doesn't involve shredding, despite the fact that shredding is a pretty lame way to recycle anything. But you can do it domestically, for a reasonable price, and thus it is a viable option for large corporations (who still export the junk which is leftover, anyway).

    With National Sword in play, a story like this just serves to misinform the public that the developing world is suffering from our waste, thus justifying any objectives to keep recycling, in whatever form, a domestic enterprise, when the fact is that they really just want what they can market, like any other business. Now, when we can't export to China, we can pretend we're doing it for their own good, not because they straight up got sick of us polluting their country and told us to take our trash and GTFO.

  7. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by Breakage:


  8. #7
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Tucson AZ
    Posts
    361
    Thanks
    306
    Thanked 579 Times in 231 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by cct001 View Post
    Thanks for adding the working link RLS0812.

    I was more under the impression that if this author traveled the world for 7 years studying these sites and researched enough to write a book he would know things like..

    Pic 1-There is nothing left of value on that tube tv. No reason to smash open
    Pic 4- No way they are melting boards
    Pic 5-I see no melted board. Maybe slightly depopulated.
    Pic 9- Scrapping more likely than repairing.

    Please correct me if I missed something in those.

    My opinion is that many of these are simple pics of recycling companies with a few actual landfill pictures mixed in.

    These people are recycling E-scrap.
    I think in pic #5 that is some sort of hot plate for melting solder to depopulate boards???

  9. #8
    RLS0812's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Bucks County Pennsylvania
    Posts
    895
    Thanks
    155
    Thanked 633 Times in 358 Posts
    I have used hot sand baths to melt solder and depopulate boards.
    The one picture is of a hot plate used to quickly depopulate boards at the expense of the worker's lungs.

  10. #9
    hobo finds's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Nov 2010
    Location
    tucson, az
    Posts
    4,746
    Thanks
    6,035
    Thanked 5,906 Times in 2,555 Posts
    In India they let there human waste flow into the street... and you are worried about them breaking down electronics? This is going to happen around the world with China backing out due to the National Sword, it is only going to get worse!
    Better than the dump!

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to hobo finds for This Post:


  12. #10
    ScrapmanIndustries's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Easton, Pa
    Posts
    361
    Thanks
    99
    Thanked 303 Times in 132 Posts
    When I was in Afghanistan they used to dump their trash into ditches on the side of the road and let it pile up all summer long. then right before its started snowing they had guys come out and pick through the trash for plastic water bottles and metal. then once the pile was picked through they would light the trash on fire to stay warm. All the bottles went to this one place in Parwan province. they started out having a small little pile of things I noticed during the summer. Come mid Feb. the pile of plastic water bottles coulda filled about 5 american semi trailers without bailing. Over here we pollute and recycle things the way we do and over there they have their own methods. Over here you have people who just toss all kinds of recycling and hazardous waste into their trash can or into the woods all because they're too lazy or ignorant to dispose of it properly. Over there I saw hoards of kids start running and fighting each other trying to be the first one to pick up the still hot brass flare casings we were shooting at them. every time we went to the range we just left the brass and the kids would gather up until we were done and then nearly get them selves run over trying to pick up all the shells we left. are we really all that much more superior to them just because we don't understand what they're doing at first glance?



  13. Similar threads on the Scrap Metal Forum

    1. Thought I'd Share
      By logansryche in forum Scrap Metal Videos
      Replies: 0
      Last Post: 10-27-2015, 10:46 AM
    2. This just came across my Twitter desk so thought i'd share.
      By logansryche in forum Scrap Metal Prices
      Replies: 0
      Last Post: 10-11-2015, 09:23 PM
    3. Thought I'd Share...
      By logansryche in forum Ebay Traders
      Replies: 17
      Last Post: 02-06-2015, 08:39 PM
    4. Just thought I would share my prices I got today
      By bpatnoe in forum Scrap Metal Prices
      Replies: 2
      Last Post: 07-29-2014, 04:44 PM
    5. Interesting article thought I would share
      By thirsty in forum General Electronics Recycling
      Replies: 12
      Last Post: 12-29-2012, 12:32 AM

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook