Sparks fly from a grinding machine while youngsters sort discarded computer parts to prep for recycling. Photo: Greenpeace India (flickr)

Don’t know what to do with your old analog TV?

The Basel Action Network (BAN), a global environmental justice organization, cautions you to think twice before recycling it.

"Most people are not aware that 50-80 percent of so-called recyclers will export your old computer to countries like China where it will be managed in horrific nightmarish conditions, that are highly polluting and damaging to human health," says BAN's Jim Puckett.

E-waste refers to broken or unwanted electronics that contain high levels of hazardous materials such as lead and mercury. According to the UN Environment Programme, “some 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste are generated worldwide every year … [and] developing countries are expected to triple their output of e-waste by 2010.”

For countries such as China and India, the low costs of processing e-waste, combined with weak health and environmental regulations, has led to a stream of material from industrialized countries. As the world's e-waste piles up, poorer countries increasingly face a dangerous tradeoff: serious health risks for a rise in incomes.

Besides toxic substances, e-waste also contains valuable metals such as gold and silver. Recovery of these precious materials is dangerous work. Unprotected workers, some of them children, pry these appliances apart to get to the metals. Sometimes, the plastic casings must be burnt away or treated with acid baths, releasing toxic fumes into the air.

These chemical by-products poison the water supply and disrupt endocrine and immune function in humans. “The air near some electronics salvage operations that remain open contains the highest amounts of dioxin measured anywhere in the world," reports National Geographic.

Accountability and enforcement remain weak despite efforts to stop illegal e-waste flows, such as the Basel Convention, an international treaty that the U.S. has yet to ratify. There's also the fact that some communities rely on the e-waste industry economically, including Guiyu, China (150,000 workers) and New Dehli (25,000).

"China, like India and many other countries, is really hungry for resources, so they let e-waste into their country to support their production chain," says Ruediger Kuehr, executive director of Solving the E-Waste Problem to The Star. "They have many people making their living off of e-waste, so they cannot easily say, 'Let's stop all of these imports.' "

So what can you do with that old TV? Thanks to BAN, there remains a socially conscious solution. The next time you want to recycle your old electronics, refer to their list of responsible e-cyclers.

This short clip by BAN is part of "The Digital Dump," a investigative documentary shot in Lagos, Nigeria.