Bottomless Pits

This chapter addresses the urgent and growing problem of discarded electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), otherwise known as e-waste. The chapter begins with a discussion of how e-waste is defined, noting the ambiguity in global definitions that complicates efforts to measure flows and track the illegal trade in hazardous materials. The chapter explains how e-waste contains both economically valuable resources and dangerous toxins, including heavy metals like lead and mercury. The chapter also discusses international efforts to regulate e-waste flows, most notably the Basel Convention. It highlights how the massive, largely unregulated global trade of e-waste has created a pronounced pattern of socio-economic unevenness, with most transboundary shipments moving from the Global North to the Global South. This often-illicit trade fuels informal recycling sectors, where impoverished communities and child laborers are exposed to significant health risks and severe environmental contamination. The chapter concludes by evaluating the promises and limitations of recycling and the circular economy as solutions to mitigate the most severe spillovers of e-waste.