Mexico Is drowning in electronic waste?

The TV you just throw a Mexican, after buying a better one to see his selection in South Africa, is part of the 170,000 tons of televisions that are discarded annually in Mexico.
Business According to a report by international monitors, Mexico is behind Brazil, the main market of electronic products in Latin America. The organization estimates that by 2013 the consumption of electronic devices per person in that country, would rise 20% to U.S. $ 119.

The consumption pattern of Mexicans has been influenced by lower prices of some consumer electronics and reducing the lifespan of these devices. "Everyone here has more than one cell, which they use and the other who knows where he is," he told BBC Esmeralda Rios, a young woman who lives in Mexico City.
The volume of e-waste can be a risk factor for the environment. Experts agree that the growth of branded e-waste a global trend.

Electronic wastes are not considered hazardous waste in Mexico. They are classified as "special handling" and its treatment is for each state.

"Our legal framework does not provide a specific law for electronic waste management, but does have a mechanism to have to implement large private generators at home (electronic waste), said Arturo Gavilán García, director of Studies on Chemical National Ecology Institute of the Ministry of Environment of Mexico.
However, according to a report compiled by the United Nations Program for Environment (UNEP), the majority of Mexico's 2443 municipalities lack the infrastructure and economic resources to solve the problem of solid waste.

Lethal combination

In some electronic devices can be extracted precious metals like gold, copper, tin and palladium. According to Guillermo Román, engineer specialist hazardous waste electronic equipment in landfills come Mexicans with 30% less than its original value, because its parts are separated into collection trucks.
But what is thrown away can pose a risk to health and the environment, because it contains metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and nickel.

"The problem, when you make an improper disposal of electronic waste, is that due to phenomena such as rain, potentially toxic elements such as metals, can dissolve and disperse in different ways. When mixed with leachate generated trash may contaminate soil, "said Hawk.

Some recyclers in Mexico receive equipment that companies do not use anymore. In addition, incineration of garbage, a common practice in some landfills, makes the covers of several artifacts from becoming dangerous as they are substances that prevent teams catch fire if overheated.

If burning flame retardants are released highly toxic gases that can affect people who are close ", said Roman.

Another point of concern is the treatment specialist who should receive the rechargeable batteries of mobile phones and computers when they are disposed. Do you have Nickel and cadmium, "highly toxic metals.

What are you doing?

For some analysts, one of Mexico's challenges is to get pass a specific law on electronic waste management, without losing sight of the international debate over its classification as a hazardous waste and the responsibility that producers have to bear in management.

Hawk says the government is working towards concluding the specifications of the legal framework governing the states and municipalities in the management of electronic waste.

For its part, environmental and business groups believe the challenge is to see the recycling of electronic devices from the perspective of resource development and employment generation.

The process of disassembly of electronic devices is also an employment generator, according to experts. In Mexico, there are nearly 100 disassembled electronics companies to recover precious metals like gold, copper, tin and palladium.

In REMSA, a recycling plant in Queretaro electronics in the north of the country, the aim is also plastic, glass and postcards to re-integrate as raw materials at a chain.

Between 2009 and 2010 so far this company has recycled over 300 tons of electronic gadgets. In a day we can disassemble 400 phones and 60 laptops "said Maria del Rosario Moreno, head of operations for REMSA.