1 files changed, 1 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/wired/old/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/11.27.06/Mon/ewaste.txt b/wired/old/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/11.27.06/Mon/ewaste.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..57f7cdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wired/old/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2006/11.27.06/Mon/ewaste.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The U.N. will meet later this week in Kenya to [discuss the growing problem of "e-waste,"][1] a term that includes, among other things, obsolete electronics. Well intended western donations of old computers, mobile phones and televisions often end up in third world landfills and create environmental problems in those countries.
+It may sound like a nice idea to donate your obsolete computer to someone overseas, but in reality you may be doing little more than shuffling junk off to foreign landfills. No one wants to discourage you from donating an old computers to developing nations, but what constitutes a recyclable machine and what is simply a piece of junk is so far open to debate.
+According to the Reuters article, one study last year in Nigeria claims that about 500 containers of secondhand electronics arrive at Lagos seaport every month. 
+>But dealers said as much as three-quarters of the PCs, televisions and phones inside were "junk" -- so obsolete they could not be repaired. Many were burned at open-air dumps, releasing toxic fumes and leaching chemicals like barium, mercury and brominated flame retardants into surrounding soils.
+Some of the proposals the U.N. will be hearing next week include a plan to make computer manufacturers take responsibility for the final disposal of their products. 
+The U.N. estimates 14-20 million PCs are thrown out every year in the United States alone.
+Most major computer manufacturers in the U.S. currently offer some kind of recycling program, but few of these programs are set up to handle overseas waste.
+[1]: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-11-27T103113Z_01_L27347882_RTRUKOC_0_US-WASTE-UN.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-scienceNews-3 "Old Computers create environmental hazards"
+\ No newline at end of file