Sub-Standard Electronics Donated to Africa Causing Pile Up o

Sub-Standard Electronics Donated to Africa Causing Pile Up of E-Waste

The safe disposal of unwanted computers, printers, mobile phones, and other electronics, collectively known as “e-waste”, is a growing problem across Africa. The world produces more than 50 million tons of e-waste each year, but less than one-quarter of that is recycled at the source. Many of these electronics enter Africa in the form of donations or products for sale.
After a fairly short life-span, they end up in dumps, with governments having little or no capacity to dispose of them safely. But in Kenya, guidelines and an e-waste recycling plant are spearheading e-waste efforts in East Africa.
A brave new world. Students at Our Lady of Nazareth Primary School in one of Nairobi’s informal settlements have gone digital. They are using second-hand¹ computers donated by a European non-profit group. These machines have been cleaned, checked, and configured for use here and in other institutions.
But most donated computers coming to Africa are not so high-quality.
“Unfortunately, when these donations come, they will be useful in the institutions for a very short period of time, maybe one or two years. Even during that time, it is very expensive to maintain them because of the frequency of the breakdowns,” says Esther Mwiyeria Wachira, education technologist at Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative, or GeSCI, a non-profit group founded by the United Nations to help developing countries use information and communications technology, or ICT, to improve their education systems.
Wachira says the worst part is that, after one or two years, most computer donations end up here, as e-waste - electrical and electronic equipment that is old, no longer valuable to their owners, or whose life-span has expired.
Many of Africa’s second-hand electronics come from European countries, either in the form of donations or products for sale. But much of it ends up being unusable in the long run, destined² for the dump.
What is worse, African countries lack the capacity to deal with the lead, cadmium, mercury, plastics and other toxins³ contained in discarded electronics.
Vice⁴ President of the European Union Neelie Kroes says European countries have strict laws against e-waste dumping at home and abroad, and are required to recycle or treat e-waste so that it does not harm the environment. She says she thinks it is important for African governments to deal effectively with e-waste as well.
“Of course, it is tempting⁵ for countries that are not yet developed to take it for granted and think, we first need to be active, to push our economy, so the more e-commerce, e-environment there is the better and we will think over later the waste problem.” she said.
South Africa is the only African country that has legislation specifically covering e-waste. Kenya has e-waste guidelines that are expected to become law within two years’ time,
Kenya is also taking the lead in East Africa in the area of e-waste recycling. In Nairobi, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre has recycled more than 4000 computers since its inception⁶ in 2007.

1 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

2 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

3 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

6 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。