We've covered how serious the e-waste problem has gotten, especially for countries with less regulations and cheap, desperate labor available for the dangerous profession of e-waste sorting... such as China. TV take-back programs are probably rarer because people tend to replace them at a much slower rate than computers and cellphones, but it can never be too soon to kick start one up—especially at a critical juncture like this one. Check out the site for both the report cards and a guide for recycling your TV when you're ready to upgrade. [Take Back My TV]

(Flickr credit:Kevin Steele)

The Chinese who attacked them were trying to keep mum on the lucrative business of mining e-waste for valuable components, including gold. According to Jim Puckett, who works for a group working to stop the dumping of toxic materials in third world countries, “A lot of people are turning a blind eye here. And if somebody makes enough noise, they're afraid this [business] is all going to dry up.”

The workers who sift through these e-waste pits get paid about $8 a day. They use caustic chemicals and often burn plastic without any type of protection uniform. The air is full of toxins, potable water needs to be trucked in, and pregnancies in the city are six times more likely to be miscarriages. All to deal with the mess we ship over. Sometimes it's easy to forget that even though we don't see our trash anymore, it still exists. And even though America has laws against e-dumping, companies regularly flout them with little repercussion.

Pelley's investigation will be broadcast on CBS this Sunday at 7pm. [CBS News via China Digital Times]

The report cites UN research that shows in most cases, the recycling services found in the most dumped-on countries—China, India, South Korea, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mexico, Vietnam and Brazil—often amount to little more than simple salvage yards, where old gear may never be properly processed. Something to keep in mind before you start feeling too great about yourself for recycling all your old tech. [GAO via Gadget Lab]

In fact, Sony Ericsson was the only company to score more than 5 out of 10 in the Greener Electronics Guide, which judges tech giants on their recycling programs, their use of harmful chemicals and their energy waste. Microsoft and Nintendo were at the very bottom of the guide, with Microsoft's exceedingly low score on climate criteria and Nintendo's Wii being more of a resource hog than one might expect.

The Information and Communications Technology sector accounts for two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and e-waste becomes a bigger and bigger problem the more we ignore it. While consumers like us can do our part by only buying the gadgets we need (and the greenest ones at that), companies really need to step up and rework internal policies to stop polluting. [Greenpeace]

Right now, almost all products ship with a proprietary power adapter. Green Plug's technology allows every electronic device to communicate its own energy requirements to one adapter, allowing for several goods to use the same power box. But in order for the universal adapter to work, companies have to embed Green Plug's firmware into their electronics.

Westinghouse, the first company to sign on with Green Plug, said the adapter would not only help it cut costs (it wouldn't have to sell power adapters with each product if the consumer already has a universal one at home), the environmental savings are huge as well.

434 million consumer electronics devices are “retired” in the U.S. each year. Those products, and their power cords usually end up in landfills. Meanwhile, over 3 billion power adapters will be shipped worldwide this year. Imagine how much less that figure would be if everything plugged into a single hub. [ PC World]

It's not nationwide (yet) and the 32-inch restriction on TVs is bogus. Other than that, way to be responsible, Best Buy! The key to getting people to recycle e-waste (or anything) is to make it convenient and free—if Wal-Mart started up a free, nationwide e-waste recycling program, we'd really be in business. And they should as a basic responsibility, given how much of it walks through their doors. I just hope Best Buy isn't using one of those super shady recycling outfits that poisons their workers. [CEPro]

Green My Apple [Greenpeace]