Better E-Waste Handling Helps Environment and Health
电子垃圾处理有新招
Plastic-removal machines will enable Ghana's e-waste recoverers to get at valuable metal guts without burning off the exteriors. David Biello reports
塑料移除机器将大幅改善加纳垃圾回收的现状，不用焚烧电子垃圾就能得到有价值的金属。
撰文 戴维·别洛(David Biello）
翻译 王宁
审校 蒋慧桢
The town of Agbogbloshie in the west African country of Ghana has been called a digital dumping ground. Millions of tons of discardedelectronics wind up there annually, so people can try to recover anything of value. It’s therefore one of the mostpolluted places in the world, because workersburn plastic coatings to get at the metal in the guts of gadgets.
西非加纳的阿格伯格布罗西(Agbogbloshie)小镇被称为电子垃圾场，每年数以百万吨的电子垃圾被运往此处，以回收一切有价值之物。因此这里是世界上污染最严重的地方之一，在这里工人们会焚烧掉电子垃圾外部以得到有价值的金属。
But Agbogbloshie is about to get cleaner, thanks to the opening of a newfacility for handling such e-waste. Four machines that can strip plastic will prevent the burning that produces hazardoussmoke.
但是一种处理电子垃圾的新设备的问世将会使阿格伯格布罗西(Agbogbloshie)变得更加清洁。使用4台剥除塑料的机器，垃圾就不再需要焚烧，也就不会产生危害的烟雾了。
E-waste is a large and growing problem thanks to the large and growing appetite for electronics. Responsible recyclers exist, but too much e-waste still ends up being exported and improperly disposed of in places like Agbogbloshie.
随着电子产品的需求不断扩大，电子垃圾所带来的问题也在日益增加，有效的回收方法确实存在，但是绝大多数的电子垃圾仍然会被出口然后运往像阿格伯格布罗西(Agbogbloshie)这样的地方。
The worst e-waste remains batteries. The most common type, lead-acid batteries,are classified as toxic waste once used. And more and more rechargeable lithiumion batteries are finding their way into landfills and other unsafe disposalsites.
最难处理的电子垃圾就是电池，最常见的就是铅酸电池，它们是人类使用过的剧毒废品，越来越多的可充电锂离子电池不是被掩埋于地下，就是通过其他不安全的办法被处理掉了。
But the problem of e-waste can be solved with proper recycling. The newmachines in Agbogbloshie should be able to strip enough wires to produceabout 10 metric tons of copper a month. That's good news for livelihoods—andlungs—of local residents.
但是电子垃圾问题可以通过恰当回收方法来解决，新机器每月剥离的塑料有望产生10吨左右的铜，这为当地人民的生计和肺部健康带来了希望。
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