Open dumping of lead and mercury-laden components, open burning of plastics to release encased copper and unsafe backyard operations to extract precious metals are the norm in most countries including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, which also lack laws governing the treatment of electronic and electrical waste. Open burning and unsafe recycling is associated with infertility, childhood development problems, impaired lung function, liver and kidney damage, inheritable genetic damage and mental health problems. Backyard recyclers are after gold, silver, palladium and copper, mainly from printed circuit boards, but the crude acid bath extraction process releases toxic fumes and is also inefficient, recovering only a portion of the valuable material. Asia as a whole is the biggest market for electronics and appliances, accounting for nearly half of global sales by volume, and produces the most waste.
'Mountains of discarded smartphones, electronics raise health and environmental concerns across Asia', ABC
