Anger mounts over environmental cost of Google datacentre in Uruguay

Protesters say recently approved tax-free datacentre will provide nothing except toxic waste and greenhouse gases'

Google's plans to build a datacentre inUruguayhave angered environmentalists, who say the project will release thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and hazardous waste.

Uruguay's environmental authorities recently approved the datacentre, which will use air conditioning to cool its servers. The company initially proposed using millions of litres of fresh water to cool its infrastructure, but this caused an outcry in a country that suffered its worst drought since 1950 last year, causing its capital city to run short of drinking water.