ENVIRONMENTAL

CHANGE
THE EFFECTS OF
TRANSNATIONAL
MANUFACTURING AND
SERVICES
Relocation of polluting
industries

What the syllabus says.

Discuss the reasons for and
consequences of the relocation of
polluting industries and waste disposal to
countries with weaker environmental
controls and safety regulations.

The Problem

There is a lot of harmful waste produced by various industries and the

problem is where can it be stored, treated or recycled.

This waste includes the by-products of the chemical industry, power

industry, transport industry among others.

A relatively new type of waste is the waste produced as a result of the

technology revolution. Out-dated products containing micro chip
technology are increasing as new, more sophisticated products are
continuously replacing the previous years model.

ICT waste as an example of the relocation of polluting industry

E-waste is the commonly-used term for this type of waste.

E-waste is growing very quickly.

E-waste images

A GROWING INDUSTRY

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

MOBILE PHONES

 By 2020, 90 percent of the world's

population over 6 years old will have
a mobile phone, and smartphone
subscriptions are expected to top 6.1
billion
India and China show fastest growth for new
mobile subscriptions with 18 million and 12
million net additions in Q3 2014
800 million new smartphone subscriptions in
2014 brings total to 2.7 billion worldwide

RECYCLE OR DUMP?

Reasons for the relocation of polluting

industries
Strong environmental controls and laws in
MEDCs
Weaker environmental controls and laws in
LEDCs
Cheaper land in LEDCs
Lower labour costs in LEDCs
More relaxed labour laws in LEDCs
More relaxed health and safety laws in
LEDCs
Incomes and opportunities are lower in
LEDCs

Your task

To produce a report on ICT waste in

West Africa
Why does it happpen?
Where does the waste come from?
Where does it go to ?
What are the environmental consequences?
What are the health consequences?
What is/ can be done to reduce the problem and how
successful have these measures been?

NOTE - REFER TO A SELECTION OF LOCATIONS IN YOUR ANSWER.

Guidance
Your report should clearly answer the 6
enquiry questions
As always make sure you include clear
locational information in your report
Inclusion of statistical information will add
credibility to your report
Aim to include enough information to
comfortably answer a 15 mark question (see
webpage for sample question).

Sources of information
TEXTS
IB Study Guide p.165
IB book pages 604-606

VIDEOS

LINKS

http://www.guardian.co.uk/en
vironment/2010/feb/22/electr
onic-waste
http://www.guardian.co.uk/en
vironment/2009/may/28/gree
nwash-electronic-waste
http://www.greenpeace.org/in
ternational/en/multimedia/pho
to-essays/Following-the-ewaste-trail/