First meeting with the Scrappers

In XXXX market I got the information that scrappers would come daily and collect whatever was of no use to computer dealers. These scrappers were from XXXX road. Next day I reached XXXX Road and to my surprise the first person whom I asked where the scrappers were  was a scrapper himself.

My guide and first scrapper (in beige)

He showed me the way to the  basement of the plaza where electronic waste was being manually dismantled. A man sitting next to a weighing machine in the dark basement was there to weigh all the waste coming in and also the dismantled material afterwards. 

There were 3 people working in this shop: my guide, the person in the picture above, and another young man around the age of 20. They were handling the dismantling of mostly monitors and their motherboards.

Monitor casing after dismantling the plastic is sold to plastic recyclers

What these workers are unaware of is that every time CRT monitor is dismantled it exposes them to the risk of inhalation of dust that may contain lead, barium oxide and phosphors. Lead is one of the most toxic elements. It causes neurotoxicity and long-term exposure to lead can cause nephropathy( damage to the kideny). It can also cause blood pressure in middle aged men. Muscle and joint pains can also be caused by lead toxicity. 

Manual dismantling being carried out with basic tools and no protective gear

These workers work more than 10 hours a day for at least 6 days a week. They rarely take Sundays off. Workers have no protective gears or gloves while working with this hazardous waste and are potentially exposed to toxics. Basic tools are used for dismantling. Every time I asked them if these practices ever made them sick and their reply was in negative. Sometimes they have breathing problems but then they do not  have an alternative to earn through some other livelihood.

Aluminum clips used in CPU to hold various components: these are also sold for further recyling

Capacitor from which copper is seperated and sold for further recycling

Almost everything that is  removed from a CRT monitor has a price and is sold to various recyclers ( glass,  plastic, metal recyclers).  What ever is left is either thrown in to waste or is burnt in open air. Most of the parts, old capacitors and copper is picked up by dealers from Gujranwala (famous for the fan industry)

Old monitor casing lying in the streets.

Refurbishers (Interesting facts have been gathered about them which will be discussed in my future blogs)

More monitors lying in the street before they are dismantled

(This is a residential area and the house doors can be seen in the pictures)

Old chip boards that would be sold for extraction of precious metals

Next destination xxxx Bazaar.... stay tuned to find out where this bag of old chip boards will end.