And if this is not addressed, critics say, developing nations will continue to be a destination for the world's unwanted computers and mobile phones.

The comments follow the launch last week of the global StEP (Solving the E-waste Problem) program.

This UN-led alliance of private and public agencies aims to work out global scrapping guidelines to protect the environment from mountains of e-waste.

But the Seattle based toxic trade watchdog, Basel Action Network, says the StEP program undermines the United Nations Basel Convention.

The watchdog says the convention calls for countries to deal with their own hazardous waste if possible.

"While the program has many excellent aspects, [it] seems unfortunately to be designed to promote the continued use of cheap foreign labour to manage the world's hazardous e-waste," the watchdog says.

The StEP program acknowledges that workers in developing countries face health dangers by what it calls "backyard practices" on e-waste.

It also notes that a growing number of people earn a living from recycling and salvaging electronic waste and the program aims to ensure this is done safely.

But the Basel Action Network says this legitimates the practice of exporting hazardous e-waste from developed countries to developing ones, against the spirit of the Basel Convention.

Legal loophole

According to international toxics law expert, Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith, there is a loophole in the Basel Convention that allows export of hazardous waste to developing countries if it is to be recycled.

Lloyd-Smith, of the National Toxics Network, says while attempts are being made to close this loophole there is currently a legal debate about whether the necessary amendments have been ratified.

She says much e-waste sent to developing countries on the pretext of being recycled is ending up in rubbish dumps and contaminating groundwater.

Dr Ruediger Kuehr of StEP says the program condemns illegal exports.

"StEP and all its members strongly condemn all illegal exports and hence also uphold the [Basil Convention]," says Kuehr, who is based in Bonn, Germany.

He stresses StEP hopes to help countries like India and China, which are developing their own domestic e-waste problem, to deal safely with it.

But he declined to answer the specific question of whether StEP condemns the export of hazardous waste to developing countries, including for recycling.

Lloyd-Smith supports any plans to help developing countries deal with their own e-waste safely but, like the Basel Action Network, is concerned about StEP's failure to publicly condemn export of e-waste to developing countries.

Disposal and recovery

Australian-based chemical engineer and StEP participant Professor Markus Reuter says the program aims to ensure all e-waste is dealt with responsibly.

Reuter is chief executive technologist at Ausmelt, a company using Australian-developed technology to recycle e-waste.

These 'reactors' heat e-waste to 1300ºC to melt and recover precious metals, and safely burn toxic plastics and chemicals to produce energy, says Reuter, who also has an honorary position in engineering at the University of Melbourne.

So why aren't the reactors used now?

First, at around A$50 million (US$39 million) each, there are only a handful around. Second, it's cheaper to send e-waste to developing countries. Third, there hasn't been a watchdog to ensure e-waste is dealt with responsibly.

"It's a matter of economics and sometimes opportunism that drives materials to places where they should not go," says Reuter. "Hopefully we can stop what is happening at the moment."

Lloyd-Smith is not so sure. She says in her experience of Basel Convention meetings, developed countries like Japan are encouraging developing nations in Asia and Africa to become recycling hubs for e-waste.