US Firms Export Hazardous E-Waste to Southeast Asia and Middle East

A Seattle-based environmental watchdog said Wednesday that at least 10 U.S. companies have exported millions of tons of used electronics to countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, sending hazardous waste to locations it says are ill-equipped to handle it safely. The two-year investigation by the Basel Action Network found roughly 2,000 containers of used electronics leaving U.S. ports each month, about 36,376 U.S. tons, and estimated that the 10 companies shipped more than 10,000 containers between January 2023 and February 2025 with an aggregate value exceeding $1 billion.

Electronic waste, or ewaste, includes discarded phones, computers and other devices that contain both recoverable materials and toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. Global production of ewaste reached a record 62 million metric tons in 2022 and is projected to hit 82 million by 2030, according to the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union and UNITAR. The watchdog said U.S. exports add to a regional burden that already accounts for nearly half of global ewaste.

The report identifies the companies by name and describes them as brokers that typically arrange shipments rather...