Hong Kong e-waste dumping grounds on lockdown amid fresh scrutiny
Workers at sites in Yuen Long were hostile to visitors and some refused to answer questions when approached by the Post on Saturday
Security has tightened at several toxic electronic waste sites after a Post report sparked a week of rancour between the Environmental Protection Department and a US watchdog.
The open-air sites, where old computers and digital devices are stored and dismantled, are still in operation, and some operators have boarded up holes in walls and ramped up surveillance.
Workers at the sites in poverty-stricken Yuen Long were seen and heard tearing digital detritus apart on Saturday morning, though an obvious clampdown in security meant some were hostile to visitors while others refused to answer questions.
One electronic junkyard saw the clean up and removal of several boxes containing disembowelled computers, though four workers continued to dismantle machinery, without wearing protective gear and tossed smashed parts into large bags.
The sites were identified by environmental watchdog Basel Action Network, earlier this year using GPS trackers attached to broken electronics, revealing that the bulk of electronic waste leaving the US arrives in Hong Kong.
