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It is reported that some developed countries have shipped
broken parts of computers to China. Such a thing can be found almost every day
although it is against international laws. Last month Hong Kong officers found
131,000 kilograms of broken computers, TVs and phones sent from Japan.
Things like these are called electronic waste, or
e-waste. Dealing with them is not an easy job because dangerous poisons like
mercury (汞) and
lead (铅) can be round in them. Every time an old
computer breaks down, it needs to be dealt with safely. But at present, broken
computer parts are usually buried. It may be hundreds of years before
they are really gone in the earth.
Many places in China are polluted by e-waste. Guiyu in
Guangdong Province is one of them. This town is named as "the e-waste
capital of the world". It has to deal with l.5 million kilograms of
e-waste each year, from which it makes 75 million yuan. But it comes at a cost.
Many of the poisons in e-waste find their way into the environment. Plastic is
burned outdoors and chemical water is poured into rivers. Greenpeace, an environmental
group, has found the air, the earth and the rivers in Guiyu badly polluted.
The Chinese government wants the country to develop, but
in a way that doesn't do harm to the environment and people's life. This year,
China passed a new environmental protection law, the strictest one we have ever
had. Computer companies like Lenovo and Dell will be asked to take back their
old computers. This is because the companies that make computers know best how
to deal with them safely. Hopefully, the problem with e-waste will be solved in
the near future.
