High tech trash: digital devices, hidden toxics and human health.

High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics and Human Health, Elizabeth Grossman, Washington, DC: Island Press, 2006, 34 pages.

Who in the world would store toxic waste in their basement, drawers and closets? Apparently, almost everyone. Discarded monitors, scanners, cell phones, computers, laptops, fax machines, modems and other high-tech peripherals are havens for toxic chemicals. Grossman's incisive investigation uncovers a trail of e-waste that meanders around the globe following an "economic path of least resistance," featuring inconvenient (or non-existent) collection channels, unregulated bulk exporting and hazardous "no-tech" recycling methods in developing countries. This book is a bold call for conscientious collaboration to responsibly manage the "underbelly of our consumptive cyberage lifestyle."