A team of journalists from Nigeria, Norway and Denmark has traced the path of e-waste through Nigeria's informal sector of importers, scavengers and repairers to hazardous dismantlers and substandard recyclers. While Ghana's Agbogbloshie e-waste dump has been in the media spotlight for years, Nigeria's e-waste problem is overlooked, despite being five times larger.
The investigation also took the team to buying and shipping points in Germany and revealed how loopholes in European law enforcement allow illegal shipments of e-waste to take place. Used electronics provide valuable IT for Africa's largest population. But once they reach the end of their life, a lack of responsibility for their disposal poses a serious threat.
