India Becoming the World's Toxic Dump
In India, recycling is big business. I'm all for the reuse and recycling of materials, but the recycling process in place here is far from green. India, along with China, Bangldesh and other Eastern nations, is rapidly becoming the world's toxic waste dump. In Western nations, e-waste recycling is not very profitable because labor is expensive. But in nations where labor is cheap, the business model becomes mroe appealing. As a result, computers filled with heavy metals and other toxic materials are being shipped to India to be stripped of valuable materials and processed in an unsafe fashion. India is also a destination for products such as asbestos. A recent report revealed that Great Britain may be shipping its household recycling to India because it is much cheaper to ship it than recycle it at home. This may be more cost-effective, but it is hardly green when one considers the huge carbon footprint of this voyage.
The Indian government continues to welcome waste from the outside as a viable stream of revenue. This comes, however, at a high cost to the health of its citizens and the environment as a whole.
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