El vertedero de Agbogblosie, en Acra, la capital de Ghana se ha convertido en uno de los lugares más tóxicos del planeta. Aquí trabajan hombres, mujeres y niños para desmantelar nuestros residuos electrónicos. Un proceso tóxico y dañino tanto para la gente como para el medio ambiente.
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00:30The poor people of Africa should not be responsible for the garbage of Europe and America.
00:36We belong to a global community.
00:39Governments cannot allow this waste to be transported to poor countries like the Africans.
00:50It is a deliberate attempt by the West to get rid of their obsolete technologies
00:56and their toxic materials, bringing them to Africa,
00:59because they think it is more expensive to find a solution in developed countries.
01:04And I get really angry, because if the garbage, electronic, is dangerous,
01:09someone has to pay for its management.
01:12If you don't know what to do with some waste, it is not fair that you give it to someone else.
01:18I mean, you can take a look at it, and you can see that about 70% of those affected
01:24by the activities of electronic waste are women and children,
01:28that is, most of the people who come here.
01:32Some of them have nothing to do with electronic waste.
01:36But we have to start thinking seriously about the issue,
01:40so that one day, the next generation,
01:43I cannot say that the West has been exterminating developing countries.
01:48We cannot tolerate that situations like this continue to happen.
01:59We are at the Akbogblossy landfill, in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
02:05Next to Chernobyl, it is considered one of the most toxic places on the planet.
02:12Here, men, women and children come to work to dismantle our electronic waste
02:18and try to rescue the valuable materials that enclose the devices that we throw.
02:24It is a toxic and harmful process, both for people and for the environment.
02:30As the rate of production and deterioration of electronic devices accelerates,
02:36year after year, more and more of these informal waste dumps emerge all over the world.
02:42They are the face of the growing crisis of electronic waste.
02:48Ghana imports large quantities of second-hand electronic products.
02:53The last study that has been carried out on this subject
02:57indicates that 70% of all electronic and electrical equipment imports are second-hand.
03:03So, we have to start thinking about how we are going to protect the environment,
03:08how we are going to protect the environment,
03:11how we are going to protect the environment,
03:14because the amount of electronic and electrical equipment is second-hand.
03:19That's already huge.
03:21But even within that 70%, almost 20% is pure garbage.
03:27And this is what is going to stop waste dumps like the one in Agbog Blosi,
03:32where they are subjected to different processes to rescue precious metals.
03:37Added to this is the high youth unemployment.
03:41Because these devices contain precious metals,
03:44you can sell them and make some money.
03:47There are many young people who go into this dangerous business just to have a job.
03:53These are the numerous problems related to electronic waste in general,
03:58not only in Accra, but in the whole of Ghana.
04:02When I started to work burning and disassembling devices,
04:07I was 17 or 18 years old.
04:12The devices come from the cities.
04:17We get it from the companies,
04:22we get it from the factories,
04:27we get it from the towns.
04:32We get it from the companies, houses, computers.
04:37When they brought it from Europe,
04:40they select the ones that are in better condition and they sell them.
04:45The ones that are not in good condition, they give them to us in parts.
04:50When they bring them here, we disassemble them and we take out the copper,
04:55we burn it.
05:04We are a group of scrap dealers that have come together.
05:09We are all together to form an association
05:12called the Association of Gran Accra Waste Manipulators.
05:16In our dump we manipulate metal waste, copper and aluminum,
05:21or other things, vehicles, heavy machinery from the factories,
05:26components from computers and other devices, like radios, televisions,
05:31and all other aspects of metal objects.
05:34We are interested in all that, yes.
05:42If 10 years ago someone had told me,
05:45you are going to have a laptop with internet
05:48to make calls and watch movies,
05:51you are going to have a mobile phone and also a tablet
05:54to be able to do all those things, I would not have believed it.
05:57So every time we have more and more information technologies,
06:01and we are not seeing this only in developed countries,
06:04also in developing countries.
06:09In the case of mobile phones, for example, in 2011,
06:13almost 500 million were manufactured.
06:16Two years later, the number had risen to 1,000 million.
06:20Today there are more mobile operating phones in the world than people.
06:27But sooner or later, all mobile phones break down.
06:31In 2014 we produced 42 million tons of electronic waste globally.
06:37It is the equivalent of 400 of the largest aircraft carriers in the world,
06:42or 115 Empire State Buildings,
06:45or seven times the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
06:51There are two problems.
06:53The first one is that we generate too much waste,
06:56because we have the habit of throwing things away.
06:59The second is that at the end of the life of these devices,
07:04the dangerous components they contain remain.
07:07If they are recycled following safety standards, nothing happens.
07:11Neither people nor the environment are in danger.
07:14But if they end up in a country where those controls do not exist,
07:18and they are not well manipulated,
07:20they can be exposed to those toxic substances.
07:24We are talking, for example, of devices designed for non-burning,
07:28which contain fire retardants,
07:30and all kinds of chemical substances that serve a function
07:33both in the production process of the device and in its use.
07:37But when you start to disassemble them or burn them,
07:40for example, to melt copper or gold,
07:43or treat them with acids to rescue some components,
07:46to reuse them, the result is disastrous.
07:49You do not control the substances that are released.
07:53They can be released in the form of smoke or acids
07:56that infiltrate the ground.
08:01The problem of all these things is the smoke.
08:09When you breathe it,
08:12even when you are not feeling well,
08:16you cannot sleep, and you get a fever.
08:21Again, when you breathe the smoke,
08:26it is a black substance.
08:38Well, I have an interest in seeing how the environment
08:41and the health of people interact.
08:43Being my major, I am a toxicologist,
08:46and I am dedicated to analyzing new components.
08:50The team of the documentary wanted to do an independent study
08:54to see if there is a chemical contamination
08:57related to the elimination and processing of electronic waste.
09:02As part of this study, I have collaborated with Sam Somatiemo,
09:05a former professor and currently a researcher at the GAEC,
09:09the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission,
09:11a government research center.
09:17I was teaching in a secondary school
09:20when we received a letter from a Dutch company.
09:25I don't want to give names.
09:27They wanted to donate computers and other technological devices
09:31to promote education in information technology.
09:35We were delighted, because at that time we needed it.
09:40They also paid for the shipment.
09:42Two 12-meter containers, from Holland to my hometown, Acropon.
09:47Before distributing them, we tested the computers
09:50and realized that 80% didn't work.
09:53We were surprised.
09:55Why would a company want to pay so much money to send us their garbage?
09:59At that time I hadn't heard of electronic waste.
10:02I didn't know what it was, but I spoke to other professors at institutes
10:06and they all told me that the same story had happened to them.
10:10In one case, even, all the computers were damaged.
10:14I also went onto the net and searched
10:17how to get rid of useless computers in Africa.
10:20And I found so much information about electronic waste
10:23that I dedicated myself to investigating the phenomenon.
10:36So these black areas, were they cremation areas?
10:39Yes, cremation areas.
10:45I'm thinking of these groups of people who are dedicated to disassembling.
10:51By hand.
10:52Yes.
10:53Are they capable of disassembling anything?
10:56You bring it to them and they disassemble it.
10:59You can bring them a last model Ferrari and they disassemble it.
11:03Here we see how the typical disassembly activity of electronic waste develops.
11:10As you can see, they have disassembled almost everything.
11:14Those who are dedicated to this task are those who have the highest rate of sinisterity.
11:19Look at this guy who is hammering the compressor.
11:23As soon as the hammer slips, he can have a fatal accident.
11:40What is he doing?
11:42He shouldn't open that, right?
11:45Watch out, there's gas.
11:48Release the gas.
11:50It's potentially dangerous.
11:53That's why his colleagues complain.
11:56You never have to do it, right? It's gas.
11:59It could be oil-liquid gas.
12:02And next to it, there are flames.
12:09I have to find something.
12:18Find something.
12:20I think what's surprising when you open a mobile phone and you look at the motherboard,
12:40is how tiny some of the components are.
12:45We demand that our phones are increasingly powerful and smaller.
12:50The components are reaching really tiny dimensions.
12:54The capacitors and resistors today measure less than a third of a millimeter.
12:59We are talking about diameters almost comparable to those of a human hair.
13:05This phone is quite old.
13:07It is easy to disassemble to a certain extent, but then it gets complicated.
13:12I've taken these screws out.
13:14And now what?
13:17Well, here we have the electronic components.
13:21You can see that they have begun to curl up.
13:25And then there is the motherboard.
13:31In mobile phones there is a lot of protection, because it is still an object that transmits a lot of radiation.
13:37If you look closely, you will see here this little motor,
13:42which makes the mobile phone vibrate when this weight that it has on top starts to rotate.
13:48It is made of a tungsten alloy, because it has to be heavy.
13:52Here we go.
13:54Here is a little more motherboard.
13:57And underneath, if we take it apart, is the gold.
14:03Whenever there are buttons, there is usually gold.
14:06That's why smartphones are a little cheaper, to a certain extent,
14:10because you don't need to use gold, since they don't have a keyboard or buttons.
14:17From this design, it is clear that not many turns have been given to the way to extract the recyclable elements,
14:24or to remove the valuable and toxic materials.
14:27They are integrated into the design.
14:30The common sense already tells you that it is a difficult task.
14:35And that it may not be worth it.
14:37If you are a recycler, you are going to tend to throw it directly into the recycling oven,
14:42and then rescue the precious materials.
14:45Current recycling technologies have certain limitations.
14:49We can only rescue some of the elements in the waste circuit.
14:53Of electronic waste, in general, only half of the elements are rescued.
14:59In other words, we are consuming and throwing away some very precious materials.
15:04There is a whole range of materials that are considered toxic in the European Union.
15:09Lead is the element that people have heard of.
15:13But there is also cadmium, arsenic, which, as you know, is poison,
15:18mercury, and many other harmful substances for health.
15:22As long as the amount of substances that are released into the environment
15:27is done in a controlled and ecological way,
15:30we can deal with these harmful elements for health.
15:34But if it is done uncontrollably, released into the environment,
15:38and infiltrated into the soil and air, then we have a problem.
15:43They are burning the cables to extract the copper and sell it.
15:57We better go that way.
16:01Okay.
16:02Let's go through the smoke. Are you ready?
16:05Yes, let's go.
16:06Are you sure?
16:08In terms of the main chemical substances that we are studying,
16:13we have focused on heavy metals.
16:16The five we have chosen are lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and mercury,
16:22which are known to be more or less harmful to humans.
16:32Oh my God.
16:33This is awful.
16:35When you come back, shower conscientiously, with a lot of soap.
16:40This is going to be one of the most difficult samples you have ever done.
16:48Try to avoid the trash as much as possible.
17:06We collect the samples and take them to the laboratory to dry them with air and remove the moisture.
17:13We then sieve each sample of soil to obtain a fine powder,
17:16without pieces of plastic or grass or whatever.
17:19We weigh each sample to determine the amount we would use in the next step.
17:27Then we add some acids to carry out a reaction known as acid digestion.
17:34This reaction allows us to isolate heavy metals in a solution.
17:38We use those solutions in the last phase of the process,
17:42which is the analysis and data collection.
17:45So we take those solutions and we put them in an atomic absorption spectroscope
17:50to detect the concentrations of heavy metals per gram.
17:54And that's how we determined the levels of the five heavy metals we chose.
18:06We were shocked.
18:08Before we carried out the tests, we assumed that we would find contamination.
18:15But I did not expect to find it in such a small sample,
18:20nor in the areas that were not directly in contact with the electronic waste.
18:26In order to establish a very clear causal relationship between each heavy metal
18:32or between each substance and a health problem,
18:35you have to go through a long process, because we enter the field of toxicology.
18:41But our study, which is backed by other studies with similar results,
18:50gives you an idea that something is going on.
18:56Every time I come back, before I enter the house,
18:59I take off everything I was wearing in akvoblossy.
19:02I take off my clothes and go straight to the bathroom.
19:06In order not to touch anything in the house, I go straight to the bathroom and wash myself.
19:13Then I leave my clothes in the sink for about three days,
19:17before putting them in the washing machine.
19:21All so as not to contaminate anyone in the house,
19:24because I am worried about the high pollution rate of the place.
19:32The problems associated with toxic materials are not new.
19:37There are international treaties that regulate their transport,
19:41their manipulation and their destruction.
19:43Since electronic waste contains toxic materials, it is classified as dangerous.
19:49The main treaty on hazardous waste is known as the Basel Convention.
19:55My name is Jim Puckett, and I am the founder and director of the Basel Action Network.
20:01The name comes from a United Nations Convention
20:05to try to help developing countries
20:08protect themselves from toxic waste from the richest and most developed countries.
20:14It is a unique convention.
20:16It is an environmentally-driven agreement,
20:18and basically designed by developing countries.
20:22And it is extremely important that it is applied to those countries
20:26that produce the most waste.
20:28The country that produces the most waste per capita
20:31more than any other country in the world is the United States.
20:35There are more than 170 countries,
20:37including all the countries of the European Union,
20:40Australia, Canada, Japan, etc., that have ratified it.
20:44But the United States refuses to follow its example.
20:47There are only two countries that signed the Basel Convention,
20:51but never ratified it,
20:54and that is Haiti and the United States.
20:57When something is exported from the United States
21:00and it is on its way to China,
21:02as soon as it leaves our territorial waters,
21:04it becomes criminal trafficking.
21:17Okay, it's Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015.
21:21It's 10...
21:2311.22 in the morning here in Paramount, California.
21:26We have a CRT monitor with cathodic rays
21:29that we are going to send to the recycling company
21:32Atan Recycling, on Norton Avenue, in Chino, California.
21:36So with every item...
21:38I'm going to disable each item somehow
21:41so that it's not reusable.
21:47And...
21:49Pull the main power...
21:51The power cable is no good.
21:54We don't want this monitor to be a waste,
21:57that it can't be reused.
21:59So that, in the end, we can say
22:01that all this time it has been a waste.
22:04If the recycler says he repaired it
22:06and sent it elsewhere for reuse,
22:08we will have proof.
22:10We have a video in which you can see me destroy it.
22:14There is barely any data
22:16about the international traffic of electronic waste,
22:19and the ones that are there are not reliable,
22:22because we are not gathering information
22:24about the waste traffic.
22:26If you really want reliable information
22:28about the waste traffic,
22:30you have to get your hands in the dough.
22:33You have to get your hands on the ground.
22:36You have to follow the containers
22:38that leave the recycling plants and disappear.
22:41You have to have people in ports
22:43like the one in Tema, in Accra, Ghana,
22:45or in Hong Kong,
22:46to see what comes in and where it goes.
22:49You also have to think about using locators,
22:51something that we are starting to do now.
22:54This is what you have to do
22:56to find out what's going on.
22:58Okay.
22:59So it's these monitors over here.
23:01In this order?
23:02Well, not in this order, but...
23:04I'm going to look at the numbers just in case.
23:06Sure.
23:07You take the labels and we look at the numbers.
23:09That's the order you're supposed to go in.
23:11Great.
23:12And just let me show you a tank.
23:14You're probably going to see a container here.
23:16It's still driving all the way to the end.
23:18You're going to look to the left,
23:20and you're going to look and see
23:22a lot of electronic waste.
23:24You're going to see containers everywhere.
23:26Like that.
23:27And probably a container here,
23:29because they have a loading ramp.
23:45Hello.
23:47I was told to come here.
23:49I want to get rid of it.
23:51Give him the form.
23:58Is it for personal use?
24:00Yes.
24:01How did you hear about us?
24:03I have to get rid of it.
24:05Recycle it.
24:06Can you help me?
24:07Yes, of course.
24:08Okay.
24:09So we have now deployed about 200 locators.
24:13And we've followed the whereabouts of these devices
24:17all over the Earth.
24:20This is the one that went from Michigan,
24:22as you can see.
24:24It went dot-dot-dot across the country on a train,
24:27and then out of Long Beach, California,
24:30it went to a port in China,
24:32and went down to a very remote and rural region in China.
24:38And if we zoom in on that,
24:40you see a blotch of points
24:44every 24 hours.
24:46If we take that into the satellite map,
24:49we can see that all of this
24:51has fallen on the ground
24:53in the middle of a farm community in China.
25:12It's a mistake to circumscribe the problem
25:15only to Ghana.
25:16The Ghana dumps are easy to access.
25:19You get off the plane, you go to the site,
25:21and after 20 minutes you're already taking pictures.
25:24That's why it's featured so much in the media,
25:26but it's not, much less,
25:27the only place where this is happening.
25:30We know that much larger amounts of electronic waste
25:33are being handled in China,
25:35in India, in Pakistan,
25:37in other countries in Africa.
25:39It's a global problem.
25:41It's an economic problem.
25:43You can't confine it just to Ghana.
25:47Basilea's network of action
25:49found that a batch of cathode ray tube monitors
25:52entrusted to the recycling company
25:54Atan Recycling
25:56was exported to Taiwan.
25:58The Taiwanese law prohibits
26:00the importation of broken electronic devices.
26:05Electronic waste in Asia
26:07has increased by 63% in five years.
26:10The dump machines are old
26:12and contain more toxic materials.
26:14A cathode ray tube
26:16can contain up to three kilos of lead.
26:18Atan Recycling refused to comment.
26:21We may not have had time to study all the substances,
26:24but the five elements chosen
26:26are known to be negative for health,
26:28particularly lead and mercury.
26:35There are multiple ways
26:37by which those heavy metals
26:39can affect humans.
26:41It can be harmful to inhale them,
26:44ingest them,
26:46or come in contact with them.
26:48And they are very harmful
26:50for pregnant women,
26:52because heavy metals
26:54can affect the development of embryos.
26:59We showed the results to Dr. Tony Fletcher,
27:02an epidemiologist who works
27:04between British Public Health
27:06and the London School of Hygiene
27:08and Tropical Medicine,
27:10where I also work.
27:13For a few years now,
27:15my research has focused
27:17on chemical risk,
27:19especially in polluted soils
27:21and drinking water.
27:23I learned about Agbogblossie
27:25from Markella,
27:27who told me about the alarming
27:29soil pollution rates.
27:31It's very worrying,
27:33because they are not exposed
27:35to potential risks.
27:37And they don't smell.
27:39Heavy metals are not perceived
27:41by smell or anything.
27:43The level of exposure
27:45to these substances
27:47can entail chronic health risks
27:49without the individual
27:51knowing what's happening to them.
27:53There are two different types
27:55of risk associated with these activities.
27:57We have the risk of neurological damage,
27:59brain damage and nervous system damage,
28:01the risk of lead and mercury damage,
28:03which are among the polluting substances,
28:05and the risk of cancer,
28:07linked to arsenic,
28:09chromium and cadmium.
28:13The five elements studied
28:15are all linked
28:17to certain ailments,
28:19including cancer,
28:21respiratory problems,
28:23developmental defects
28:25and neurotoxicity.
28:27The concentration of these elements
28:29in Agbog Bloksi
28:31has sometimes been
28:33more than 100 times
28:35that of the soil outside the landfill.
28:39We don't feel good.
28:41Looking at the air we breathe
28:43and our economic conditions,
28:45we have health problems.
28:47Because most of the victims
28:49of the activities
28:51we do here
28:53are us.
28:55We suffer the negative effects
28:57before they affect anyone else.
28:59So we are not happy
29:01with what is happening.
29:03And because of our situation,
29:05even if one of our children
29:07were to die,
29:09we would not have money
29:11to take him to the hospital.
29:13We are confused,
29:15and we don't know what to do.
29:17That is the situation
29:19that we find ourselves in.
29:21But nobody is being assessed here?
29:23Once in a while,
29:25yes,
29:27but they are volunteers.
29:29Volunteers?
29:31Purely volunteers.
29:33And do you know what they consist of?
29:35Do they take samples?
29:37Yes, they take some samples
29:39and they measure the vital constants,
29:41blood pressure,
29:43sugar levels.
29:45But we don't have
29:47a national laboratory for toxicology.
29:49No, we don't have
29:51a laboratory for toxicology.
29:53Do they go to the hospital or not?
29:55Well, they might go to the hospital.
29:57There is a clinic nearby
29:59where they can go.
30:01But again,
30:03because we don't have
30:05a national laboratory for toxicology,
30:07and they are people
30:09who live below the poverty line,
30:11they don't have the economic resources
30:13to pay for the type of analysis
30:15that would help them
30:17identify their ailments.
30:19Maybe.
30:21Headaches or vomiting,
30:23some of the symptoms of poisoning.
30:25Poisoning.
30:27The doctor can prescribe
30:29a treatment against malaria,
30:31a very prevalent disease in Ghana.
30:33And the person can end up dying
30:35because their problem is not malaria
30:37but poisoning.
30:51Ghana seems to have a special relationship
30:53with the United Kingdom.
30:55Many of the people involved
30:57are expatriates
30:59from the former colonial relationship.
31:01So many of those materials
31:03are being exported from the United Kingdom
31:05and to a lesser extent
31:07from continental Europe,
31:09the Netherlands,
31:11and the United Kingdom.
31:13And they are being exported
31:15from the United Kingdom
31:17to the United Kingdom
31:19from continental Europe,
31:21the Netherlands, Germany.
31:23But Ghana doesn't seem to be
31:25importing much from the United States
31:27according to our investigations.
31:29Since the United States
31:31has not signed the Basel Convention,
31:33their companies can export
31:35electronic garbage without
31:37infringing any federal law.
31:39In the European Union,
31:41which has ratified the Convention,
31:43in addition to other agreements,
31:45only electronic devices
31:47are allowed in developing nations.
31:49In spite of everything,
31:51European countries
31:53continue to export electronic garbage.
32:13When my boss imports
32:15these products from the United Kingdom,
32:17they arrive directly at the ports.
32:19Our general manager
32:21has to process
32:23all the paperwork and so on.
32:25Before we take them
32:27to our stores,
32:29we unload them
32:31in the warehouse.
32:33Sometimes,
32:35not always,
32:37out of the 50 devices we receive,
32:39maybe only 40
32:41work.
32:43We have to check them.
32:47In that case,
32:49my job is to examine them
32:51and repair them.
32:53But they all come from the United Kingdom, yes.
33:01We don't know the magnitude
33:03of illegal activities
33:05because no one fills out a form
33:07to say,
33:09I just illegally acquired
33:11or whatever.
33:13But we believe that the figure
33:15is around 100,000 tons
33:17of electronic waste
33:19illegally exported from England
33:21every year.
33:23Those responsible for this trafficking
33:25are criminals who do it for money.
33:27There's a whole range of people
33:29involved in these illegal activities,
33:31from those who see it
33:33as a quick way
33:35to make money
33:37to those who organize themselves
33:39for all kinds of criminal activities.
33:41In this country
33:43and in the rest of Europe,
33:45we have an industry
33:47capable of recovering
33:49those electronic wastes
33:51and turning them into valuable materials.
33:53Unfortunately,
33:55there are people who take the money,
33:57recycle those materials
33:59and then send them to countries
34:01around the world where it's cheaper
34:03to get rid of them,
34:05which is illegal.
34:07Meanwhile, the documentary team
34:09has hidden four locators
34:11in cathode ray tube monitors
34:13that have previously been unused
34:15by an independent electrician.
34:19Four delivery directions
34:21were set in London.
34:23Of the four cathode ray tube monitors,
34:25three were taken to recycling centers
34:27where they were eliminated
34:29according to the rules.
34:31The fourth, however,
34:33traveled to another destination.
34:35¿Qué tal?
34:37Bien.
34:39Quería reciclar esto. Está roto.
34:41Por supuesto.
34:43Te doy 50 peniques.
34:45No lo necesitas, ¿no?
34:47Te lo dejo si quieres,
34:49pero está roto.
34:51No importa. Muchas gracias.
34:53Bien, gracias.
34:55Al cabo de un mes,
34:57había llegado al puerto de Tema,
34:59en Accra,
35:01desde donde fue trasladado
35:03¿Todo viene de Reino Unido?
35:05De Reino Unido, sí.
35:11Two members of the documentary team
35:13found the cathode ray tube monitor
35:15on sale
35:17in a second-hand objects store.
35:19Veamos.
35:21Bien.
35:23Aquí está el localizador.
35:25Claramente es este.
35:27Sí, aquí.
35:29Se lo vendieron
35:31por 15 dólares.
35:33Y seguía roto.
35:37No todos los aparatos
35:39que se exportan para ser
35:41reutilizados siguen funcionando.
35:43En este país se nos da de pena
35:45reparar las cosas.
35:47Casi nadie lleva a reparar
35:49sus aparatos electrónicos,
35:51mientras que en esos países
35:53es relativamente fácil.
35:55Saber si un artículo es basura o no
35:57depende del punto de vista.
35:59Legal y medioambiental y socialmente
36:01es más sensato reutilizar los ordenadores
36:03en la medida de lo posible,
36:05porque hay lugares de África
36:07donde el 80 o el 90% de la población
36:09no se puede permitir
36:11comprar aparatos nuevos.
36:13Si queremos alcanzar los objetivos
36:15de desarrollo del milenio,
36:17la gente tiene que ser capaz de comprar estos artículos
36:19y no pueden comprar los nuevos.
36:23Creo que en Ghana tenemos la percepción
36:25de que los productos electrónicos
36:27de segunda mano
36:29son de mejor calidad que los de primera mano.
36:33Y a veces es cierto,
36:35porque la mayoría de los productos
36:37de primera mano que importamos
36:39de Asia son de mala calidad
36:41y se rompen
36:43con mucha facilidad.
36:45Así que normalmente
36:47la gente prefiere comprar
36:49aparatos de segunda mano.
36:53Ya se exporten de manera legal
36:55o ilegal,
36:57hay un problema innegable.
36:59Y es que tarde o temprano
37:01todos los aparatos electrónicos
37:03se convierten en basura.
37:05Lo que sucede en los países en desarrollo
37:07es que carecen de las infraestructuras
37:09de reciclaje necesarias
37:11para poder eliminarlos de manera segura.
37:13Y puesto que no se pueden mandar
37:15a otra parte,
37:17acaban en lugares como Agboglosi.
37:21En Ghana hay gente
37:23que se dedica a ir por ahí
37:25para comprar desechos.
37:29No sabemos para qué los usan,
37:31pero nos los compran barato
37:35y se los llevan.
37:37Normalmente vienen al almacén.
37:41Cuando los examinamos
37:43y vemos que están defectuosos
37:45y que no sirven para nada,
37:47los apartamos y ellos vienen a por ellos.
37:49No los podemos tirar a la basura
37:51y no podemos mandarlos al vertedero
37:53porque hay gente que iría a por ellos.
37:57Es importante que vengan
37:59a buscarlos a nuestro almacén.
38:01No hay otra manera.
38:03Si no, acaban en las manos equivocadas.
38:09Creo que los fabricantes
38:11de equipos electrónicos
38:13se tienen que responsabilizar
38:15de sus productos.
38:17No es de recibo que en Agboglosi
38:19encontremos teclados de Dell con plomo.
38:23Y más cuando en Reino Unido
38:25se llenan la boca con la economía circular.
38:27No es de recibo.
38:33¿Cómo es que Dell, HP, Toshiba
38:35y los demás fabricantes
38:37se hacen responsables
38:39del fin de ciclo de vida
38:41de sus productos en Reino Unido,
38:43en Europa y en Estados Unidos,
38:45pero en África son los jóvenes pobres
38:47que se obligan de desmontarlos
38:49y envenenarse ellos mismos
38:51y al resto de la población?
38:53Se me cae el alma a los pies
38:55cuando veo esas placas base
38:57y esos teclados
38:59de estas compañías multinacionales
39:01aquí tirados.
39:03El problema de Agboglosi
39:05no empezó ayer.
39:07Hace ya por lo menos diez años
39:09que se está gestando.
39:11¿Cómo es que no ha habido
39:13ninguna medida concreta
39:15de los fabricantes para resolverlo?
39:35Damas y caballeros,
39:37tomen asiento.
39:39Desconecten sus dispositivos móviles.
39:41Bienvenidos al futuro.
39:43Tomamos millones
39:45de decisiones pequeñas y grandes.
39:47Hay innumerables ideas
39:49a nuestra disposición.
39:51Un sinfín de opciones por elegir
39:53que configurarán el mundo
39:55de hoy, de mañana
39:57y de los próximos años.
39:59Las nuevas tecnologías
40:01nos están dando la posibilidad
40:03de navegar en el caos
40:05y de definir nuestro propio futuro.
40:09Ha sido muy interesante
40:11ver que hoy el foco global
40:13está puesto tanto en el cambio climático
40:15como en la cuestión de los materiales,
40:17cuántos tenemos
40:19y cuántos necesitamos.
40:21Si todo el mundo consumiese al ritmo
40:23al que consumen hoy los estadounidenses,
40:25harían falta cinco planetas tierra
40:27para satisfacer nuestras necesidades
40:29y la cosa no va a cambiar
40:31en un futuro cercano.
40:33Es muy urgente que repensemos
40:35a nivel global nuestra forma de fabricar
40:37y usar las cosas.
40:39Nuestro objetivo para 2020
40:41es recolectar un millón de toneladas
40:43de aparatos electrónicos.
40:45Ya vamos por 700.000.
40:47Solo con el programa Reconectar
40:49llevamos 213.500 millones
40:51de toneladas desde 2004.
40:53Somos la empresa
40:55que más recicla a nivel global.
40:57Operamos en 78 países y territorios.
40:59O sea que nos lo tomamos
41:01muy en serio.
41:03Cuando ves esas imágenes
41:05de residuos electrónicos en China
41:07y ves una caja en la que pone
41:09Dell, es nuestra marca
41:11la que está en juego.
41:13Hemos visto todos esos residuos
41:15de los que nos deshacemos
41:17en los países en desarrollo.
41:19Por eso Dell ha tomado la iniciativa
41:21de promover la prohibición
41:23de que se exporten desde Estados Unidos.
41:25En 2009, Dell se convirtió
41:27en el primer fabricante de ordenadores
41:29que prohibió la exportación
41:31de productos electrónicos
41:33averiados a naciones en desarrollo.
41:36El problema del reciclaje
41:38es que en sí mismo
41:40no es una solución.
41:42Es un proceso complejo y caro.
41:44Y aún así hay muchos materiales
41:46valiosos imposibles de rescatar.
41:48Para reducir la basura electrónica
41:50que producimos,
41:52hay que repensar nuestra forma
41:54de diseñar y fabricar la tecnología.
41:56Creo sinceramente
41:58que el modelo económico actual,
42:00lineal, de usar y tirar,
42:02es un modelo que ya no vale.
42:04La mayoría de los aparatos
42:06que nos rodean
42:08se fabrican de manera lineal.
42:10Es un modelo que empezó
42:12con la revolución industrial
42:14y es un proceso muy eficiente
42:16porque conseguimos producir en masa
42:18aparatos de muy alta calidad
42:20a precios asequibles.
42:22Es un modelo
42:24que no se ha tenido en cuenta
42:26lo que pasa con estos productos
42:28cuando acaban su ciclo vital.
42:30Raras veces se pueden arreglar
42:32o reparar o reutilizar,
42:34un componente clave
42:36si queremos adoptar
42:38un modelo más circular.
42:40La economía circular
42:42se define como una economía
42:44diseñada para autoregenerarse.
42:46Los productos se fabrican
42:48y se optimizan
42:50pensando en la decisión
42:52del consumidor.
42:54Cuando éste compra un artículo,
42:56compara sus prestaciones
42:58con las de otros similares
43:00y no se fija en sus esperanzas de vida.
43:02Hay que motivar a los fabricantes
43:04para que creen productos atractivos,
43:06útiles, de última generación
43:08y que aguanten el paso del tiempo.
43:10La economía circular en la electrónica
43:12gira alrededor de la reparación
43:14y la reutilización.
43:16Si prolongamos la vida útil
43:18de los productos,
43:20tendremos que olvidar la importancia
43:22al reciclaje,
43:24porque es la parte menos importante del ciclo.
43:26Estábamos tan frustrados con la industria
43:28y con su nula voluntad
43:30de resolver el problema
43:32que les dijimos.
43:34Ya que no queréis diseñar una solución,
43:36os la diseñamos nosotros.
43:38Vamos a descifrar el código fuente
43:40de vuestro hardware.
43:42Vamos a coger vuestro producto,
43:44lo vamos a destripar
43:46y le vamos a enseñar a la gente
43:48y descubriremos cuál es el proceso
43:50para repararlo y lo publicaremos.
43:54Aquí tengo un Apple Watch.
43:56Es todo un reto desmontarlo
43:58porque tiene un cristal
44:00y hay que calentarlo y usar un cúter
44:02para cortar la junta que lo rodea
44:04y acceder a su interior.
44:06Cuando lo abrimos,
44:08nos encontramos sepultada en las entrañas
44:10del Apple Watch la batería.
44:12Si quisiéramos reciclar el reloj,
44:14bastaría con tirarlo a una trituradora
44:16pero la batería plantea
44:18un problema de seguridad
44:20porque si está mínimamente cargada
44:22y la tiras a una trituradora
44:24puede prender fuego al polvo presente
44:26en la trituradora y causar una explosión.
44:28Ninguna compañía de reciclaje
44:30está dispuesta a dedicar
44:32cinco minutos del tiempo
44:34de un trabajador asalariado
44:36para sacar la batería
44:38y recuperar los materiales rescatables.
44:46Para resolver todos los problemas
44:48habría que crear una realidad diferente
44:50pero si nos limitamos a los problemas
44:52de la cadena de suministro
44:54podemos promover un cambio en la industria
44:56¿Cómo?
44:58Creando una manera de pensar diferente
45:00En ese sentido,
45:02creo que Fairphone
45:04forma parte de un movimiento más amplio.
45:06Hemos tenido mucho éxito
45:08en el sentido de que
45:10cuando empezamos
45:12no éramos más que ellos
45:14En un momento dado
45:16nos dimos cuenta
45:18de que para cambiar las cosas
45:20teníamos que formar
45:22parte del sistema económico
45:24y pensamos
45:26si hubiera más de 5.000 personas
45:28dispuestas a comprar nuestro teléfono
45:30lo haríamos
45:32y pasó algo fantástico
45:34cuando lanzamos el crowdfunding
45:36vendimos más de 10.000 teléfonos
45:38en tres semanas
45:40Para que os hagáis una idea
45:42los teníamos en nuestra cuenta bancaria
45:44y no sabíamos hacer un teléfono
45:46así que entramos un poco en pánico
45:48pero vimos que la gente
45:50estaba comprometida
45:52La misión de Fairphone
45:54como empresa social
45:56es contribuir a crear
45:58una economía más justa
46:00diseñando un teléfono
46:02Suena muy grandilocuente
46:04eso de una economía más justa
46:06Es algo muy intangible
46:08No se puede cambiar
46:10el sistema económico
46:12de un día para otro
46:14Así que lo que hemos hecho
46:16ha sido identificar
46:18en nuestra cadena de valor
46:20cuatro áreas de acción
46:22que queremos mejorar continuamente
46:24desde el punto de vista
46:26social y medioambiental
46:28Esas áreas son la explotación minera
46:30el diseño, la fabricación
46:32y el ciclo de vida
46:34Por ejemplo, en el ámbito
46:36de la explotación minera
46:38tenemos los ingredientes
46:40de países en conflicto
46:42es decir, el estaño, el tantalio
46:44el tunsteno y el oro del Congo
46:46y los países vecinos
46:48Si invertimos en explotar
46:50minas certificadas
46:52libres de conflictos
46:54esperamos encontrar alternativas
46:56para que los mineros congoleños
46:58puedan trabajar en minas
47:00certificadas verdes
47:02en vez de trabajar en minas
47:04gestionadas por grupos rebeldes
47:06Actualmente, uno de los principales
47:08fallos de los smartphones
47:10es que se diseñan para que sean
47:12muy bonitos en las tiendas
47:14pero no se diseñan para que sobrevivan
47:16digamos, a la forma en que los tratamos
47:18Así que lo hemos solucionado
47:20con esta funda integrada
47:22que le da una resistencia mucho mayor
47:24Otro de los fallos
47:26de los teléfonos es que
47:28cuando se nos rompe la pantalla
47:30normalmente lo tenemos que llevar
47:32a una tienda y quedarnos sin él
47:34durante 10 días
47:36El Fairphone 2
47:38se puede abrir por aquí
47:40y podemos retirar la pantalla
47:44Lo que hemos hecho
47:46ha sido aislar todos los componentes
47:48electromecánicos
47:50todos los componentes electrónicos
47:52que tienen movimiento
47:56La lente de la cámara
47:58tiene que enfocar
48:00El altavoz tiene que vibrar
48:02El USB tiene un conector
48:04que entra y sale todos los días
48:06Así que todos esos componentes electrónicos
48:08son los que más rápido se rompen
48:10Por ejemplo
48:12si mi cámara tiene un problema
48:14cuando ya tengo el diagnóstico
48:16me podría comprar
48:18una cámara nueva
48:20y con un sencillo
48:22destornillador Philips
48:24ya está
48:26Podría retirar la antigua
48:32Estoy convencida de que
48:34dentro de un par de años
48:36las principales industrias
48:38habrán asimilado la noción
48:40de economía circular
48:42en la gestión de sus productos
48:44en el diseño, en sus servicios
48:46y en la gestión del fin de ciclo de vida
48:48de sus productos
48:52La tecnología está cambiando
48:54la sociedad más rápido que nunca
48:56El ritmo al que la fabricamos
48:58y consumimos
49:00está cometiendo récords todos los años
49:02A consecuencia de ello
49:04también estamos tirando
49:06cada vez más cosas
49:08Hay cada vez más lugares
49:10donde se procesan los residuos electrónicos
49:12en condiciones insalubres
49:14con peligrosas consecuencias
49:16ACVOCLOSY es tan sólo un ejemplo
49:18Ha llegado el momento de pensar
49:20de una manera diferente
49:22una manera que garantice a los consumidores
49:24que sus residuos electrónicos
49:26no aterricen en lugares como ACVOCLOSY
49:28Necesitamos productores y diseñadores
49:30que fabriquen productos duraderos
49:32Necesitamos una solución
49:46Podemos hablar todo lo que queramos
49:48de economía circular
49:50pero mientras tanto
49:52la gente sigue dejando placas base
49:54tiradas por ahí
49:56¿Por qué?
49:58¿Por qué contaminamos a los niños con estas cosas
50:00cuando las podemos tratar
50:02adecuadamente y devolverlas
50:04a la cadena de producción?
50:06¿Es deliberado?
50:08¿O es sólo que la gente no piensa?
50:12Creo que algunos no se lo toman en serio
50:14Pues tenemos que empezar
50:16a tomarnoslo en serio
50:18porque vivimos en una aldea global
50:22No es un problema de gana
50:24No es sólo ACVOCLOSY
50:26El problema
50:28es cómo estamos tratando el fin de ciclo
50:30de vida de nuestra tecnología
50:32Ese es el problema fundamental
50:34No podemos verlo como
50:36el problema de ACVOCLOSY
50:38o decir
50:40Oh, cuánta contaminación hay en Ghana
50:42y poner esas imágenes fantásticas
50:44en los periódicos e internet
50:46y repetir el mantra
50:48de la contaminación en Ghana
50:50El problema es crear un sistema global
50:52consciente de la escasez de los materiales
50:54y de la necesidad de conservarlos
50:56El futuro depende de cómo, entre todos
50:58transformemos estos lugares
51:00y hagamos materiales que puedan regresar
51:02a la cadena de producción
51:04De lo contrario, la siguiente generación
51:06no podrá sobrevivir a nuestro estilo de vida
51:08porque esto no es sostenible
51:22Subtítulos realizados por la comunidad de Amara.org