It is unneighborly to ship toxic e-waste to developing nations, to say the least. Used electronics contain lead, mercury, barium, arsenic...none of it good. Our waste impacts the poorest of the poor, in the of ugliest ways. See this quick synopsis:

The good news is that there are ways to convert some of our e-waste into humanitarian outreach. A wonderful company, named HopePhones
makes our converts our used phones into tools for medical outreach in impoverished and remote areas.

When a cell phone is sent to the HopePhones recycling center (detailed information is offered on their site), a value is assigned to the recycled phone, which is put toward purchase of a HopePhone.  These phones are distributed to community health workers at medical clinics in developing nations to connect them to distant patients.

"a $10 cell phone will give 50 families access to emergency medical care, health information, transportation services and clinic resources."

The average recycled phone enables the purchase of 2-3 HopePhones. According the their site, 1700 phones have been donated to date.

Should other opportunities present themselves to spin gold from straw, or to turn e-waste into life-changing technology, we will let you know.

Should you have any resources on this, please contact us so we can help spread the word.

Tags: arsenic, barium, e-waste, Hopephones, lead, mercury, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

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