https://en.sputniknews.africa/20260406/western-toxic-legacy-leaves-africa-choking-under-weight-of-waste-colonialism-1084895495.html
Western Toxic Legacy Leaves Africa Choking Under Weight of Waste Colonialism
Western Toxic Legacy Leaves Africa Choking Under Weight of Waste Colonialism
Sputnik Africa
A surge in electronic waste and hazardous imports from wealthier nations is systematically placing African countries under renewed environmental and public... 06.04.2026, Sputnik Africa
2026-04-06T17:36+0200
2026-04-06T17:36+0200
2026-04-06T17:36+0200
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Western Toxic Legacy Leaves Africa Choking Under Weight of Waste Colonialism
Sputnik Africa
A surge in electronic waste and hazardous imports from wealthier nations is systematically placing African countries under renewed environmental and public health strain, raising concerns about a modern form of exploitation in regions least equipped to manage it.
The world generates tens of billions of kilograms of electronic waste every year, yet less than a quarter of it is formally recycled. The rest moves deliberately. In January 2023, authorities intercepted 331 containers of smuggled e-waste bound from the Canary Islands to Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal, according to a 2024 report by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. That seizure was not an anomaly but a glimpse into what researchers now call waste colonialism, the industrial nation's systematic export of its toxic burden to Africa.To understand how the global waste trade system disproportionately affects the continent, why it continues to date, and how it can be mitigated, African Currents interviewed three Kenyan professionals in environmental advocacy, policy, and reporting:Catch the full discussion on the African Currents podcast, presented by Sputnik Africa.Listen to this episode on our website or Telegram.► You can also stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Pocket Casts, Afripods, Podcast Addict.► Subscribe to and explore all the episodes of African Currents.
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Western Toxic Legacy Leaves Africa Choking Under Weight of Waste Colonialism
A surge in electronic waste and hazardous imports from wealthier nations is systematically placing African countries under renewed environmental and public health strain, raising concerns about a modern form of exploitation in regions least equipped to manage it.
The world generates tens of billions of kilograms of electronic waste every year, yet less than a quarter of it is formally recycled. The rest moves deliberately. In January 2023, authorities intercepted 331 containers of smuggled e-waste bound from the Canary Islands to Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal, according to a 2024
report by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. That seizure was not an anomaly but a glimpse into what researchers now call waste colonialism, the industrial nation's systematic export of its toxic burden to Africa.
To understand how the global waste trade system disproportionately affects the continent, why it continues to date, and how it can be mitigated, African Currents interviewed three Kenyan professionals in environmental advocacy, policy, and reporting:
Hellen Kahaso Dena, who leads Greenpeace Africa’s Pan-Africa Plastics Project;
Dorothy Otieno, Team Lead for Plastics and Waste Management at the Centre for Environment Justice and Development in Kenya; and
Juliet Wambui Mbuthia, a climate and sustainability journalist at New Media Group in Kenya.
"So, local communities and civil societies have been standing up for the injustice [indiscriminate waste dumping in Africa] that continues to be perpetrated by those who dump, be it big brands, be it producers, be it the Global North. And this is done by challenging the whole aspect of waste colonialism [...]. So, just ensuring that we are pushing these governments and not just governments in Africa, but also governments in the Global North where the actual dumping comes from [...]. The one thing or the one message that we always put across is that the Global South and African countries are not Europe's dumping ground," Dena said.
Catch the full discussion on the African Currents podcast, presented by Sputnik Africa.
Listen to this episode on our website or
Telegram.►
Subscribe to and explore all the episodes of African Currents.
