https://www.artworksforchange.org/portfolio/chris-jordan/

"The U.S. generates more total e-waste per year – 9.4 million tons – than any other country. Despite landfill bans and e-waste collection programs across the country, some 40% of heavy metals in U.S. landfills are estimated to come from discarded electronics. When old electronics end up in landfills, the toxic metals and flame retardants they contain can cause environmental problems. In an effort to avoid these problems, conscientious consumers take their e-waste to recycling centers. Unbeknownst to them, however, about 80% of that material very quickly finds its way onto a container ship going to a country like China, Nigeria, India, Vietnam or Pakistan, where workers remove the metals. Many of these countries do not have regulations in place to protect workers, who often work without protective equipment and breathe in high levels of toxic chemicals. Follow the sordid trail of toxic e-waste in thisexposé by 60 Minutes and learn about e-waste recycling options in thise-waste guide." https://www.artworksforchange.org/chris-jordan-e-waste-video/ https://earth911.com/eco-tech/e-waste-recycling-solutions "In the words of the artist: “Exploring around our country’s shipping ports and industrial yards, where the accumulated detritus of our consumption is exposed to view like eroded layers in the Grand Canyon, I find evidence of a slow-motion apocalypse in progress. I am appalled by these scenes, and yet also drawn into them with awe and fascination. The immense scale of our consumption can appear desolate, macabre, oddly comical and ironic, and even darkly beautiful; for me its consistent feature is a staggering complexity. The pervasiveness of our consumerism holds a seductive kind of mob mentality. Collectively we are committing a vast and unsustainable act of taking, but we each are anonymous and no one is in charge or accountable for the consequences. I fear that in this process we are doing irreparable harm to our planet and to our individual spirits. As an American consumer myself, I am in no position to finger wag; but I do know that when we reflect on a difficult question in the absence of an answer, our attention can turn inward, and in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action. So my hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry. It may not be the most comfortable terrain, but I have heard it said that in risking self-awareness, at least we know that we are awake.”"