Million tonnes of electronic waste are produced every year in Europe, part of which is shipped illegally to Africa. Much of it is labelled 'used goods' or 'development aid' but is often just toxic waste that puts people's health and the environment at risk.
The Agbogbloshie junk yard in Accra, Ghana, is the largest electrical goods scrap heap in West Africa. More than three thousand people live here in slums â?? in poverty and poor sanitary conditions. Many people earn a living here recycling the waste goods. They dismantle computers, televisions and refrigerators, melting down their components to extract metals such as copper and aluminium.
Sandra Hoyn (b. 1976) is an independent photojournalist based in Hamburg, Germany. She studied photography at the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, graduating in 2005. She started working for magazines, NGOs and on her personal photo projects, focusing on social, environmental and human rights issues.
Awards 2017 she received the first prize of the Sony World Photography Awards in category daily life and POYi – Pictures of the Year International third place category portrait. In 2016 she received the Magnum Photography Award in category photojournalism, 2015 World Press Photo Award third prize, category nature singles.
