Mountains of e-waste – discarded parts of computers, mobile phones and other consumer electronics equipment – are quietly creating a new environmental problem in India. Thirty million computers are thrown out every year in the US alone, and many are dumped in India and China. Some 70% of the heavy metals in landfills come from electrical equipment waste. Now concerns are being raised on the impact the dumping – particularly evident in India’s computer heartland, Delhi – is having on both the country’s environment, and its people. “The problem is that these computers, which are quite old, have a lot of toxic material in them,” Ravi Agraval, leader of campaign group Toxic Links, told BBC World Service’s One Planet programme. “They have things like mercury, lead, flame retardants, and PVC-coated copper wire. “When you try and extract or recondition these computers you release these heavy metals and these chemicals. These are disasters for the environment.” Full Story