Electronic waste and management

2014

Electronic Waste or E-waste, resulting from obsolete electrical and electronic devices is posing to be a rapidly expanding issue in today's world. Yet it has limited awareness among the masses. Prevailing to be a consistent problem in the developed countries, the e-waste management scenario in the developing countries is even worse due to improper disposal of e-waste or otherwise unsafe and primitive technologies involved in its recycling. This paper delves into the issue of proliferating e-waste accumulation, with emphasis on the NorthEastern part of India and suggests a few effective ways for abatement of this impending hazard. During the course of our study it has come to the fore, that unless the problem of e-waste management is immediately addressed, it will continue to emanate and prove to be detrimental to human health as well as the environment.

2020

The objective of the study is twofold: first is to explore how electronic waste (e-waste) is managed through recycling in the developing and developed regions. Secondly, the study suggest approach towards recycling of e-waste in a manner friendly to the environment. This review paper was prompted by the escalating rate at which electronic waste is growing around the world. Electronic waste when poorly managed it has damaging effects on the environment and health. The paper is a narrative overview of the literature synthesizing the findings of literature retrieved from online database searches and grey literature. Hand searches of the references of retrieved literature were conducted. Findings indicated that developing countries mostly follow unsafe and unregulated recycling methods. The reasons for engaging in these activities range from unemployment and poverty, lack or limited awareness about e-waste damaging effects on health and the environmental. On the other hand, developed regions are in illicit exportation of e-waste. The causes range from the high cost of recycling in developed countries, strict regulations, disguising e-waste as a donation and mislabeling of export containers. The study therefore, suggests that formal recycling and informal recycling be combined to reap the benefits of both. Informal recycling has a grand collection system whereas formal uses relatively safer facilities. In order for collaboration to happen incentives (preferably financial) are to be in place for informal recyclers. Secondly informal recyclers need to be educated about the harmful effects of unsafe recycling practices on their health and the environment.

2022

Generation of electronic waste (e-waste) is increasing rapidly which causes significant challenges to its management. Many toxic and hazardous substances contained in e-waste pose hazards on the human health and environment via air, water and soil. The infrastructure to deal with e-waste is insufficient in terms of technology; Rudimentary and primitive techniques are used to treat more than 90 % of e-waste. Intensive study of the characteristics of various hazardous materials in e-waste essential to create the awareness among the people. This paper reviews e-waste generation, composition, recoverable, recyclable, and hazardous materials, potential health environment impact, current management practices and trends.

Elsevier, 2023

The main objective of this paper is to understand the concept of e-waste material management which is a big challenge to the environment in the 21st century. Rapid rise of electronics and IT Retail, gift customer culture, and increasing consumer spending of electronic products creates fateful consequences for the environment. E-waste materials are also dangerous when recycling due to its toxicity, many substances including some carcinogens. These issues and toxicity are due to the release of lead, mercury, cadmium, and metallic elements. In this article reported a brief comparison of how developing and developed countries deal with e waste materials. Developed countries export this waste as follows: (i)Formal recycling (ii) donations to developing countries. Whereas in developing countries informal recycling takes place, majority of the e-waste materials are being dumped to the land & only a small portion of e-waste is went through proper recycling. There are various laws and guidelines in developed countries, but still, it is difficult to control e-waste materials. Current research focuses on usage and marketing effectiveness use of electronic waste materials in nature. Proper implication of laws should take place and awareness to people around the globe and serious actions must be taken care by the manufacturers.

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2017

E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world in terms of volume and its environmental impact on the planet. The existence of precious metals in the e-waste stream provides a major economic benefit for recycling industries but due to the presence of hazardous chemicals, a proper recycling technique is required prior to the disposal of the e-waste. This paper presents an overview of the statistics on global e-waste generation and the sales of new electrical equipment and electronics in general. The total amount of e-waste produced has reached approximately 41 million tonnes in 2014 and increasing at a rate of 3-5% every year. A correlation between e-waste generated, gross domestic product and population of the country has also been explored that suggested that the GDP of any country has a direct correlation with the amount of e-waste produced by that country. The population of the country doesn't have a significant impact. The paper also describes the importance and benefits of recycling are emphasized while presenting the techniques currently used by the recycling facilities.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2022

Electronic Waste or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are the ones which are loosely rejected, out-dated, damaged electrical or electronic equipments which are dangerous to the environment and affect the health of the human beings. Therefore Electronic Waste Management is very essential in present day life. These waste electrical equipments can be reused and recycled. Various Administrations, bodies, and governments of countries have implemented and established strategies for Electronic Waste Management to cope up with the threat of Electronic Waste to the environmental setting and health of humans. Electronic Waste includes non-ferrous and costly metals extracted from the equipments which are out-dated. This paper focuses on E-waste composition, Indian E-waste scenarios, dangerous materials found in the Electronic Waste, Best Practices, reusing, and regaining methods followed in order to safeguard the environment. Electronic waste is a major threat faced by many countries so the government focuses on reducing and eliminating the E-waste by adopting various techniques and best practices to safeguard the health of the humans and environment.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RECENT TRENDS IN ENGINEERING & RESEARCH, 2019

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) describes discarded electrical devices. Each year, around 50-million-ton e-waste is generated in the world, from which India produce 1.5 lakh ton of e-waste annually. There is lack of concurrence as to whether the term should apply to reuse, recycle, recovery and refurbishing industries. E-waste contains hazardous materials which are very harmful to human health and environment. There is lack of knowledge in disposal methods of e-waste. This is the alarming situation to find the proper path to manage and dispose the e-waste safely. This paper discusses the present scenario of e-waste management and possible handling strategies. Keywords-Electronic waste, sources, presents scenario, impact, disposal methods, management strategies. I. INTRODUCTION Electronic Wastes are one of the fast-growing wastes in the world. It is a situation that prevails everywhere and it's hard to survive in this world without machines. The humans are fully influenced that machines that make our lives more comfortable. So, to satisfy the requirements of the people, electrical goods are increasing day by day and they get crowded in the market. This finally results in the generation of E Wastes. Basel Action Network (BAN) estimates that the 500 million computers in the world contain 2.87 billion kgs of plastics, 716.7 million kgs of lead and 286, 700 kgs of mercury. The average 14-inch monitor uses a tube that contains an estimated 2.5 to 4 kgs of lead. The lead percolates into the ground water from landfills thereby contaminating it. If the tube is crushed and burned, it emits toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Disposing e wastes by burning leads to major problems and it accounts for a major part of air pollution. The unwanted chemicals produce fumes that get mixed up with the air and it destroys the nature of the air. Sequentially, it attacks human beings during respiration. So, recycling should be done to use them efficiently again.

E-Waste in Transition - From Pollution to Resource

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment management (E-waste or WEEE) is a crucial issue in the solid waste management sector with global interconnections between well-developed, transitional and developing countries. Consumption society and addiction to technology dictate the daily life in high and middle-income countries where population consumes large amounts of EEE products (electrical and electronic equipment) which sooner become e-waste. This fraction is a fast-growing waste stream which needs special treatment and management due to the toxic potential of public health and environment. On the other hand, the e-waste contains valuable materials which may be recovered (precious metals, Cu) reused and recycled (metals, plastics) by various industries mitigating the consumption of natural resources. The new challenge of e-waste management system is to shift the paradigm from a toxic pollution source to a viable resource in the context of sustainable development.

Sustainability

Electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest-growing class of waste because of the remarkable demand for various electronic gadgets such as mobiles and laptops. Moreover, its improper disposal is life-threatening because it includes hundreds of different substances, many of which are toxic elements and pollutants that can leach to soil and surface and groundwater or be emitted into the air, causing a major negative impact on the environment and public health. As a result, studies on the sustainable management of e-waste have gained increasing attention from researchers globally in the last decade to explore practical strategies to reduce or utilize this special waste. This review aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the major aspects of e-waste, including its definition, composition, and the impact of its end-of-life disposal on human health and the environment, while also focusing on some practical sustainable solutions and strategies toward effective e-waste management. It wi...

Hazardous Wastes [Working Title]

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is said to be the fastest growing stream of hazardous waste in the world. E-waste is comprised of a variety of inputs including hazardous materials, potentially valuable and recyclable materials, and other inputs. E-waste follows a range of pathways after disposal, including formal and informal recycling, storage, and dumping, in both developed and less-developed country contexts. Globally, the handling and regulation of e-waste as both a hazardous waste stream and as a source of secondary raw materials has undergone significant changes in the past decade. A growing number of countries have adopted extended producer responsibility laws, which mandate electronics manufacturers to pay for proper recycling and disposal of electronics. The e-waste recycling industry is becoming more formalized as the potential to recover valuable materials has increased, but a range of recent studies have shown that e-waste recycling continues to carry a range of occupational health and environmental risks.