Electronic Trash Makes Philippines Dirty

The Philippines generated an estimated 540 million kilograms of electronic waste in 2022, placing it among the top producers in Southeast Asia. That figure, from the United Nations’ Global E-waste Monitor, translates to roughly 4.7 kilograms per person — a number that may sound modest until you consider what happens to those discarded phones, air conditioners, and solar panels once they leave homes and offices. A significant portion ends up not in formal recycling facilities but on streets like Onyx Street in Manila, where informal dismantlers break them down by hand, often burning wire casings to reach the copper inside.

The scale of the problem is not just about volume. It is about what happens when dismantling is done without regulation, protective gear, or formal oversight. For the thousands of workers who depend on this trade, the immediate priority is survival — not the long-term health consequences of inhaling burned plastic and heavy metals. Understanding how the country got here, who bears the cost, and what could change requires looking at the economics, the health data, and the regulatory gaps that define the Philippines’ e-waste landscape. For more context on the broader waste challenges the country faces, you can read about how the Philippines is battling landfill overload.

What drives the informal e-waste trade

The informal dismantlers, known locally as mambabaklas, operate in a grey zone. Their work is technically illegal under the Basel Convention, which the Philippines has signed, and under national hazardous waste regulations. Yet the trade persists because it provides a livelihood for families with few alternatives. Dexter Barsigan, a 47-year-old father of three who has worked as a dismantler for 13 years, told reporters that dismantling helps put food on the table and pays for his children’s schooling. He does not wear a mask while working. His hands ache, his vision has blurred, and he avoids doctors because he worries he cannot afford treatment.

This is not a fringe activity. On Onyx Street alone, hundreds of dismantlers work in a kilometre-long stretch of informal operations. The relationship between pickers and junk shops is entirely informal, which Irvin Cadavona, a hazardous waste management officer with the environment department, described as making it “very hard” to establish formal recognition for the community. Without recognition, there is no pathway to regulation, training, or health monitoring. For a deeper look at how informal operations affect public health, see the coverage of how informal factories harm Filipino air quality.

Health consequences that compound over time

The health risks tied to informal e-waste dismantling are not speculative. The World Health Organization has stated that exposure to e-waste chemicals can lead to asthma and reduced lung function in children, while pregnant women face higher risks of stillbirths and premature delivery. Gelo Apostol, an environmental health specialist from Ateneo de Manila University, noted that exposure to the substances found in e-waste can cause anemia, kidney and thyroid diseases, and nerve damage. The chemicals involved — lead, mercury, cadmium — have been studied extensively for decades. The question, Apostol said, is not whether they are dangerous, but what the threshold for action should be.

Rosana Milan, physician-in-charge at Manila’s Pedro Gil Health Center, told reporters that her clinic has diagnosed half of the 12,000 people living along Onyx Street with respiratory issues, most of them children. “It’s very risky for the babies, the toddlers and even the school children … they’re sitting beside their father while the father is … burning the rubber,” Milan said. Dismantler Sammy Oligar said his one-year-old grandchild had been diagnosed with pneumonia that a doctor attributed to pollution from the burning. “The smoke would enter from our window and the child would inhale it,” Oligar said, adding that many of his neighbours were dealing with lung illnesses.

The lack of formal data specific to dismantlers creates what Apostol calls an “evidence gap” that may be contributing to a lack of urgency. But he argues that the existing research on the chemicals themselves is sufficient. “What are we waiting for?” he asked. “To have nationwide data of people who died from e-waste before we take action?” The question points to a deeper tension: the health effects are slow, cumulative, and hard to trace to a single source, making it difficult to build the kind of case that drives policy change. For more on how pollution affects Filipino communities, see the report on how sulfur dioxide pollution harms Filipino air.

What gets missed in the e-waste conversation

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Most discussions about e-waste focus on the volume of discarded electronics and the need for better recycling infrastructure. Both are valid concerns. But several nuances complicate the picture.

The recycling rate is far lower than most people assume

Globally, less than 22.3 percent of e-waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022. That means $62 billion worth of recoverable natural resources — including rare earth elements — went unaccounted for. In the Philippines, the informal sector handles a large share of what is collected, but without the infrastructure to safely extract materials, much of the value is lost while the health costs are externalised to workers and nearby residents.

Solar panels are a growing blind spot

As the Philippines expands its use of solar energy to combat climate change, a new waste stream is emerging. The expected mass of retired photovoltaic panels in 2030 is 2.4 million tonnes globally, four times the 600,000 tonnes recorded in 2022. Solar panels contain hazardous materials and are not designed for easy recycling. The country’s current e-waste framework does not adequately account for this upcoming wave.

Formal facilities exist but are not the solution for everyone

Dismantlers who work at accredited facilities are required to follow stringent guidelines. But the informal sector operates outside this system entirely. The gap is not just about enforcement — it is about economics. Formal recycling costs money. Informal dismantling pays immediate cash. Until the economics shift, regulation alone will not redirect the flow of e-waste.

The “evidence gap” slows policy action

There are no comprehensive studies tracking health outcomes specifically among Filipino e-waste dismantlers. This makes it difficult for regulators to justify interventions, even though the chemicals involved are well-documented hazards. The result is a standoff: advocates call for action based on known risks, while policymakers wait for localised data that may take years to produce.

What can be done about e-waste in the Philippines

Addressing the e-waste problem does not require a single solution — it requires a combination of regulatory reform, economic incentives, and public health interventions. The following actions are grounded in what experts and organisations on the ground have identified as priorities.

Recognise and integrate informal workers

Médecins du Monde (MdM), a French humanitarian organisation, has been providing gloves, masks, and safety orientations to dismantlers on Onyx Street. Eva Lecat, MdM’s general coordinator, argues that recognition of informal e-waste workers is essential. “If (their work) was legal and recognised and regulated, there would be ways to protect people and communities,” she said. Formal recognition would open pathways to training, health monitoring, and safer dismantling methods. The challenge, as Cadavona noted, is that the picker-junkshop relationship is entirely informal, making it difficult to establish a registry or oversight mechanism.

Invest in collection and recycling infrastructure

Kees Baldé, lead author of the Global E-Waste Monitor, said the report represents “an immediate call for greater investment in infrastructure development, more promotion of repair and reuse, capacity building, and measures to stop illegal e-waste shipments.” In practical terms, this means building facilities that can handle the full range of e-waste categories — from small IT equipment to temperature exchange devices — and making them accessible to the communities that currently rely on informal dismantling. The investment, Baldé said, “would pay for itself in spades” given the value of recoverable materials.

Expand public health monitoring in affected communities

The health centre on Onyx Street has documented respiratory illness in half of the local population, but this kind of data collection is not standardised or scaled. Establishing regular health screenings for dismantlers and their families, and linking that data to environmental exposure tracking, would provide the evidence base needed to push for stronger protections. Without it, the “evidence gap” that Apostol identified will continue to stall action.

Prepare for the solar panel waste wave

With photovoltaic panel waste expected to quadruple by 2030, the Philippines needs to integrate end-of-life management into its renewable energy planning. This includes setting up take-back programmes, funding recycling research, and ensuring that solar installations include decommissioning costs in their upfront pricing. Waiting until the panels start piling up will repeat the same pattern seen with electronics today. For a broader look at policy approaches, see the recommendations on mainstreaming reuse and refill systems.

Frequently asked questions about e-waste in the Philippines

Closing thought

The e-waste problem in the Philippines is not a failure of individual workers — it is a structural issue where the economics of survival collide with the long-term costs of pollution. The dismantlers on Onyx Street are not ignorant of the risks. They are making a calculated choice in the absence of alternatives. Until formal recognition, infrastructure investment, and health monitoring are treated as interconnected priorities rather than separate policy silos, the cycle will continue. If this was useful, you might also want to read an overview of waste solutions addressing the Philippines crisis.

Sources

Fighting marine pollution to save the Coral Triangle — Explores how waste mismanagement on land affects marine ecosystems and biodiversity in the region.

How dirty water hurts Filipino health — Examines the health consequences of water contamination, including from industrial and informal waste disposal.

Informal e-waste dismantling poses health risks. Japan Times, 2025.

PHL among largest e-waste producers in SE Asia — report. BusinessMirror, 2024.

Philippines faces escalating e-waste crisis. Digital Watch Observatory, 2024.