Lagos gets tons of old phones, broken TVs, and outdated computers. People throw them away as quickly as they get new ones.

With Kuusakoski's exit from the U.S., a waste management company with several local contracts is looking for somewhere new to recycle electronics.

Mr. Clapp is a journalist and the author of “Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash,” from which this essay is adapted.

Eric Schmidt warns that rogue states and terrorists may exploit AI to pose an extreme risk to global security.