An environmental organization, BAN, claims that US companies are discreetly sending discarded electronic devices to developing nations.
A report released on Wednesday alleges that brokers are exporting millions of tons of electronic waste from the US, mainly to developing countries in Asia and the global South that lack the resources to manage the toxic waste safely.
The Basel Action Network (BAN), a Seattle-based environmental watchdog, reports that ten major US companies have been exporting large quantities of e-waste to countries where its import is prohibited. BAN estimates this business could be worth over $200 million each month. They also suggest the total industry trade could surpass $200 million monthly.
BAN estimates that between January 2023 and February 2025, these shipments may have constituted 6% of all US trade with Malaysia, the primary destination for this hazardous waste.
“This new, almost invisible tsunami of e-waste, is taking place… padding already lucrative profit margins of the electronics recycling sector while allowing a major portion of the American public’s and corporate IT equipment to be surreptitiously exported to and processed under harmful conditions in Southeast Asia,” the organization stated.
BAN asserts that brokers and “largely unregulated intermediaries” are enabling this practice, which “may contravene certification requirements, legal frameworks, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles.”
According to BAN, many of these brokers, who operate in industrial areas east of Los Angeles and present themselves as “responsible recyclers,” are actually shipping e-waste to unregulated junkyards overseas, often mislabeling the shipments as raw materials or functioning electronics.
The watchdog reports that at these facilities, hazardous waste is frequently processed using open burning, acid leaching, and other dangerous methods by undocumented workers without proper safety measures. They added that the subsequent improper disposal of byproducts creates long-term dangers for the environment and local communities.
Worldwide e-waste is increasing, reaching a record 62 million metric tons in 2022, with less than a quarter documented as properly recycled, according to UN data. This figure is projected to reach 82 million metric tons by 2030.
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