Electronics recycling shops asked to relocate to industrial park

By Anil Mathews (ScrapMonster Author)

December 10, 2015 07:08:17 AM

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The E-waste Capital of the world-Guiyu has urged all electronics recycling companies in the region to relocate to an industrial park, in an attempt to curb pollution. The recycling of electronic goods outside the park will be banned completely by end-2015, officials stated.

According to a statement issued by Lin Dingliang, head of Chaoyang District, Shantou City, the proposed relocation to industrial park would ensure standardized disposal of effluent, waste and emissions services. This will eliminate the pollution caused by dismantling of hazardous electronics.

Guiyu, China is often referred to as the “e-waste capital of the world.” The town employs over 150,000 electronic waste dis-assemblers, recyclers, and salvage workers who use bare hands to crack open the discarded electronics to recover precious metals such as gold, silver etc., and other parts of value that are then sold or re-used.

However, the ground samples and water purity tests indicate the presence of several toxic metals at considerably higher levels than the permitted limits. Heavy metal content has been detected in Guiyu’s air. Meantime, local water streams have reported higher content of several poisonous metals including lead, mercury, tin, nickel and cadmium.

The relocation of businesses to the park had initially begun during 2013. Studies indicate that hazardous metal content in air has declined by 94% during the first three quarters of the current year upon comparison with 2012 levels. The lead content in the nearby Lianjiang River has declined by 37%. Also, the content of nickel and copper in the river sediment has dropped by 78% and 94% respectively. The town had closed nearly 400 shops in November this year. However, the town still has hundreds of small workshops that continue to pollute its soil, air and water.