The grim reality of China's e-waste burden

It is a clich of the science fiction genre to posit a future in which humanity has had to surrender the Earth's surface to the cast-off electric appliances and other rubbish that nature could no longer accommodate.

The plotlines may be fictional, but the threat posed by such garbage is real enough. China is already groaning under the weight of electronic waste (e-waste), which has become a major source of pollution because of improper treatment.

Of all the different kinds of e-waste, home electronics call out most urgently for a legal or regulatory regime for recycling, experts said.