Slashdot has posted a link (“Digital Waste Worth More Than Gold, Copper Ore”) to an article by Foreign Policy about the recycling of digital waste.

Scary numbers quoted in the article.

• Each year between 20 and 50 million tons of electronic waste is generated globally
• Its 10 times cheaper to ship waste to China than to dispose of digital waste properly at home
• One ton of computer scrap contains more gold than 17 tons of gold ore.
• Circuit boards can be 40 times richer in copper than typical copper ore.
• Lead, mercury, and cadmium are a computer’s most common toxic substances. When melted down, the machines release even more toxins into the air, ground, and water.
• Some disposal sites in China employ more than 100,000 people. In Guiyu, the average worker can earn between $2 and $4 a day.

It reminds of the infamous shipbreaking yards in India.