“E-waste” refers to the millions of electronic devices from mobile phones to personal computers discarded each year as a result of a lifestyle culture demanding constant hardware upgrades. According to Greenpeace, Asia alone annually produces 12 million tons of e-waste. While most of the waste comes from the developed world, almost all of it ends up in developing countries. Here a rapidly expanding market employs cheap labour to extract single parts and metals for recycling, presenting the local population with serious health and environmental problems. This presentation shows a selection of photos of e-waste published by amateurs and professionals on the photo sharing site Flickr. The photos testify to the fact that contemporary electronic culture is far from virtual or immaterial but rather entails a very tangible and burdensome materiality.

Image 1,2: Vibek Raj Maurya

Image 3: Courtesy of Jack Caravanos/Blacksmith Institute