Management of E-waste, an Emerging Contaminant in the Environment

Abstract

Transforming the world from the industrial era to the technological era, the generation of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) has become a major environmental concern in the world (Saldaña-Durán et al., 2020). e-waste includes all the assemblies, subassemblies, con¬sumables of waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) (Ranasinghe & Athapattu, 2020). The advancement of technology, introduction of “smart concepts and designs”, mar¬keting strategies, changing lifestyle, compatibility issues, and end-of-life have caused rapid obsolescence of many electrical and electronic devices (Forti et al., 2020; Kiddee et al., 2013). Thus, the annual generation of E-waste keeps growing, and according to the United Nations Global E-waste Monitor 2020, approximately 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste was gen¬erated worldwide by 2019 (Forti et al., 2020). Further, the report predicts that this annual generation will be doubled and will reach 74 million metric tons by 2030 (Forti et al., 2020). However, an extensive generation of e-waste in developing countries compared to developed countries is due to the importation of discarded electronic devices or used devices from the developed countries (Hicks et al., 2005). Statistics show that a massive quantity of e-waste is generated in Asian countries (China, India) followed by America and Europe (Abalansa et al., 2021). Recycling, incineration, and landfill disposal are the widely practised treatment techniques in the world and improper disposal of waste can have adverse effects. Therefore, recycling and manage-ment policies and regulations are formulated at country, regional and global scale. However, due to the lack of awareness on the toxicity of e-waste and lack of e-waste collection infrastructure, improper handling and disposal of domestic and industrial WEEE are still practised globally (Saldaña-Durán et al., 2020). This accounts for the unregulated re¬lease of E-waste and its associated hazardous ma¬terial, which can cause contamination of the envi¬ronment (air, water, soil). Once released, they can be transported from the terrestrial environment to the aquatic environment and atmosphere. Since E-waste consists of both inorganic and organic haz¬ardous pollutants, it will cause adverse effects on all the ecological receptors. Many research findings have highlighted the environmental and human health risks associated with the improper handling of E-waste.