In Guiyu, China, local government has established an industrial park that concentrates electronic-waste-processing facilities to limit their potential environmental and health impacts (see Z. Wang et al. Nature 536, 23–25; 2016). The park, which is used by some 80,000 people, is also an important source of employment.

Electronic waste in the area was previously manually dismantled in household workshops, with no environmental or health protection. In the processing park, created in 2014, new techniques and specialized facilities remove and protect against pollutants. Volatile pollutants, for example, are collected and piped to a treatment facility. Air sampling and local reports indicate that air quality has significantly improved as a result (unpublished data).

It will take time to fully implement the Basel convention on transboundary waste movement (http://www.basel.int/#2), and even longer for individual countries to formulate strict regulations for the disposal and processing of electronic waste. Meanwhile, the Guiyu model offers a solution for limiting damage to the environment and to public health.