Every year, hundreds of thousands of computers and other electronics are discarded from industrialized nations. A large number of them end up in Ghana, West Africa, where non-functional items are torn apart to salvage copper, aluminum, and other metals that can be sold for money. Mainly the business of young men and children, copper wires and other components are set ablaze to burn off the plastic, releasing toxic fumes and chemicals that contaminate the environment and people who live nearby.

A study by Greenpeace revealed that ground samples collected in the areas used for e-waste recycling contained toxic metals - including lead - in quantities as much as one hundred times above background levels. Other chemicals such as phthalates, some of which are known to interfere with sexual reproduction, were found in most of the samples tested. One sample also contained a high level of chlorinated dioxins, known to promote cancer.