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Director:  Cosima Dannoritzer  |  Spain / France  |  2014  |  87 min

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SYNOPSIS

Every year, up to 50 million tons of electronic waste – computers, television sets, mobile phones, household appliances – are discarded in the developed world. 75% of this waste disappears from the legal recycling circuits, with much of it being dumped illegally in the Third World, where it destroys landscapes and harms lives. This film takes the viewer on a journey of investigation to Europe, China, Africa and the US and reveals a toxic global trade fuelled by greed and corruption.

This film takes the viewer on a breath-taking journey of investigation to Europe, China, Africa and the US. It reveals how the European recycling system, ruined by lack of controls, greed and corruption, leaks like a sieve to shady international exporters; how harbor officials in Europe and Asia are fighting a losing battle against the immense volume of e-waste crossing the oceans; why the US is the biggest exporter in the world; and how whole cities in China are drowning in our discarded appliances, where they are recycled with a total disregard for the environment or the future. As a result, recycled and damaged computer chips are creeping into the production of electronics that control key aspects of our lives, such as public transport, creating a huge security risk in the process.

Can the toxic tide be stemmed, or are too many people willingly turning a blind eye?

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