Advancements in communications technology make it easier than ever for the globetrotting traveler to stay connected and keep in touch. However, the shortening product lifecycles of the latest cell phones, PDAs, and notebook computers translate directly into increasing amounts of obsolete electronics piling up in a landfill near you.

The consequences aren’t pretty. So-called electronic waste or e-waste – which features copious amounts of notorious contaminants such as lead, mercury, and beryllium – is the scourge of the Information Age. Dumped e-waste becomes nothing less than a slow-release conglomeration of toxins and carcinogens, affecting both human and environmental health.

In response, many Western jurisdictions have stepped up efforts to encourage the recycling of e-waste. Although this seems to be a positive development, there is a dark side, too.

Quoting figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Christopher Bodeen of the Associated Press writes that it is ten times cheaper to export e-waste than to dispose of it properly at home. Therefore, as the economics of the situation dictate, shipping electronic waste overseas for reuse and recycling has become big business. The problem is, the exported “goods” seem to have an uncanny tendency of ending up in countries where environmental standards are lax or not enforced.

Estimates are that approximately 70% of the world’s e-waste ends up in China; developing nations such as India, Kenya, and Nigeria represent key destinations for the remainder. Workers in the e-waste recycling business, who are often poor and desperate for employment, are exposed to appallingly hazardous working conditions and use crude tools and techniques such as hammers, open fires and acid baths to strip away any scrap metal or glass which is of value.

What’s left of the e-waste is then merely dumped – in a landfill.