By: Sajibur Rahman
As the world turns its attention to China’s increasingly stringent waste import ban, a dangerous stream of electronic waste is entering Bangladesh.
Read MoreUS is ‘using Mexico as a garbage sink’ leading to ‘toxic crisis’, UN expert says→
/By: Verónica García de Leónand Erin McCormick
Mexico is facing a “toxic crisis” and has become a “garbage sink” for the US, exposing Mexican communities to dangerous pollution, a UN expert has warned.
Read MoreBAN Praises Southeast Asian Governments and Urges Further Action to Crack Down on Illegal E-Waste Dumping→
/Seattle / Kuala Lumpur / Bangkok / Jakarta. April 7, 2026. The Basel Action Network (BAN) today commends the governments of Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia for taking strong actions against illegal imports of hazardous electronic waste, primarily from waste brokers in the United States (US) that pose as recyclers but instead, ship containers of e-waste across the ocean to Southeast Asia.
Read MoreEnvironmental Groups Urge Indonesian President to Order Return of 914 Containers of E-Waste Back to Countries of Origin and Publish Container Numbers→
/Seattle / Jakarta / Surabaya, Mar. 5, 2026 — The Basel Action Network (BAN), Nexus3 Foundation, and ECOTON have sent an open letter to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and key ministers, urging decisive action to return 914 containers of suspected illegal electronic waste seized in Batam, and calling for full public transparency on all re-export operations.
Read MoreEnvironmental Watchdogs Applaud Action by Albania Prosecutors in Global Hazardous Waste Dumping Scandal→
/Tirana, Bangkok, Seattle, February 9, 2026 - The Basel Action Network (BAN), together with EARTH Thailand and Milieukontakt Albania, welcomed decisive action by the Prosecutor’s Office in Durrës confirming that 102 containers of steel industry waste exported from Albania were hazardous. Authorities have issued 33 indictments and carried out 20 arrests in connection with the illegal shipment to Thailand.
Read MoreU.S. Shipping Line Matson backtracks on commitment to not dump their old ships on South Asian Beaches→
/Seattle / Brussels – 3 February 2026 — The Basel Action Network (BAN) and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform today condemned Matson Shipping Lines for proceeding with the export of its former U.S.-flagged vessel MOKIHANA for scrapping at the notorious shipbreaking beaches of Alang, India.
Read MoreIndonesia Flooded with Electronic Wastes from the US; 822 Suspect Containers Detained in Batam→
/Seattle, WA. 16 December 2025. New reports from Indonesian media and customs officials describe a rapidly growing number of 40-ft sea-going containers piling up after being seized and held in Indonesia’s Batu Ampar port in Batam.
Read MoreCalifornia Caught Violating Foreign Country Laws Banning Mixed Paper/Plastic Waste Imports →
/December 2, 2025. Today, two waste watchdog groups, the Basel Action Network (BAN) and The Last Beach Cleanup, published a Fact Briefing detailing that California is exporting…
Read MoreAmerican e-waste is causing a ‘hidden tsunami’ in Southeast Asia, watchdog report says→
/HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Millions of tons of discarded electronics from the United States are being shipped overseas, much of it to developing countries in Southeast Asia unprepared to safely handle hazardous waste, according to a new report released Wednesday by an environmental watchdog.
Read MoreFollowing the Smoke: Investigation of Ten U.S. Companies Points to a Hidden Tsunami of e-Waste Exports to Asia→
/Seattle, WA, Oct. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Basel Action Network (BAN), released a new investigative report, “Brokers of Shame: The New Tsunami of American e-Waste Exports to Asia”, documenting how a group of large U.S brokers appear to be facilitating what BAN estimates to be a billion-dollar trade in exporting electronic waste to developing countries.
Read MoreBrokers of Shame→
/Brokers of Shame
Today, the Basel Action Network (BAN), released a new investigative report, “Brokers of Shame: The New Tsunami of American e-Waste Exports to Asia”, documenting how a group of large U.S brokers appear to be facilitating what BAN estimates to be a billion-dollar trade in exporting electronic waste to developing countries.
Read MoreWhen Europe’s electronics become Africa’s waste: a Nigerian take on producer responsibility→
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The European Union is recognised for its strong environmental policies, yet much of its waste is dumped abroad. Aliyu Umar Sadiq explores what happens when used electronics are exported from the EU to Nigeria.
By Aliyu Umar Sadiq
August 26, 2025. The export of second-hand products from the EU to Africa can benefit receiving countries, providing wider access to affordable goods. But when the fees that producers pay to finance waste treatment – the so-called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees – remain in Europe, African countries are left to handle the waste management of imported products without the necessary support…
The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry→
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The informal recycling economy is turning global e-waste into profit — at a steep human and environmental cost.
By Yashraj Sharma
New Delhi, India. August 26, 2025. In the dead of a cold December night in 2023, at a dump near Delhi, hundreds of men huddled around small bonfires, clutching paper cups of tea. They tossed plastic bags into the flames as they waited for a fleet of trucks to arrive…
Treaty Opportunity to Reduce Plastic Pollution Tossed Away in Geneva→
/Geneva, Switzerland. August 15, 2025. After six major intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meetings and numerous side meetings across almost 3 years, the effort to create a binding international treaty to minimize plastic pollution…
Read More'Food on table' outweighs health risks for Philippine e-waste dismantlers→
/Published: Tuesday, 29 July, 2025 04:35
Updated: Tuesday, 29 July, 2025 13:01
By: Agence France‑Presse
Dexter Barsigan has spent the past 13 years making a living with his bare hands and a pair of pliers, stripping scrapped laptops and air conditioners for metal he can sell to junk shops in the Philippines.But since his hands began aching and his vision started to blur three years ago, there have been days he can only watch his wife and nephew do the job for him.
The 47-year-old father of three is a "mambabaklas", the Filipino word for informal dismantlers who scavenge electronic waste for the nickel, aluminum and copper inside.