Spain busts criminals smuggling e-waste to Africa

Spanish police have broken up a criminal group that smuggled over 5,000 tonnes of hazardous electronic waste from Spain's Canary Islands to several African countries, authorities said Tuesday.

Police arrested 43 people suspected of having illegally shipped 331 containers of used electronics to Africa over the past two years, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The network allegedly forged customs documents for the exported waste to make it seem that the containers held second-hand goods, in an operation valued at over 1.5 million euros.

Most of the trash was sent to Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal.

Africa has become a major dumping ground for discarded electronics from around the world, known as e-waste.

This is often burned to extract minerals such as aluminium and copper that can fetch a high value when resold.

Electronic devices and vehicle parts can contain cadmium, mercury, lead, arsenic and other substances that can harm the environment or human health when they are not properly handled.

Related Links
Computer Chip Architecture, Technology and Manufacture
Nano Technology News From SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Taiwan's TSMC begins mass production of 3nm chips
Tainan, Taiwan (AFP) Dec 29, 2022
Taiwanese tech giant TSMC said Thursday it had started mass production of its 3-nanometre chips, among the most advanced to come to market. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company operates the world's largest silicon wafer factories and produces high-performance chips used in everything from smartphones and cars to missiles. It is also Apple's primary chip supplier. Its 3nm-process chips are expected to have more processing power while using less power, boosting battery performance. " ... read more