Elsevier

Environment International

Volume 110, January 2018, Pages 173-192
Environment International

Review article
Has the question of e-waste opened a Pandora's box? An overview of unpredictable issues and challenges

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.10.021Get rights and content

Highlights

  • This scientific review provides an overview of the complex and global e-waste problem.

  • E-waste management faces many gaps, issues and challenges.

  • Improper e-waste handling has led to several human health and environmental issues.

  • Knowledge gaps remain regarding the magnitude of the e-waste legacy contamination.

  • Solutions should be eco-oriented consumer habits and upgraded recycling processes.

Abstract

Despite regulatory efforts and position papers, electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) remains ill-managed as evidenced by the extremely low rates of proper e-waste recycling (e-recycling) worldwide, ongoing illegal shipments to developing countries and constantly reported human health issues and environmental pollution. The objectives of this review are, first, to expose the complexity of e-waste problems, and then to suggest possible upstream and downstream solutions. Exploring e-waste issues is akin to opening a Pandora's box. Thus, a review of prevailing e-waste management practices reveals complex and often intertwined gaps, issues and challenges. These include the absence of any consistent definition of e-waste to date, a prevalent toxic potential still involving already banned or restricted hazardous components such as heavy metals and persistent and bioaccumulative organic compounds, a relentless growth in e-waste volume fueled by planned obsolescence and unsustainable consumption, problematic e-recycling processes, a fragile formal e-recycling sector, sustained and more harmful informal e-recycling practices, and more convoluted and unpredictable patterns of illegal e-waste trade. A close examination of the e-waste legacy contamination reveals critical human health concerns, including significant occupational exposure during both formal and informal e-recycling, and persistent environmental contamination, particularly in some developing countries. However, newly detected e-waste contaminants as well as unexpected sources and environmental fates of contaminants are among the emerging issues that raise concerns. Moreover, scientific knowledge gaps remain regarding the complexity and magnitude of the e-waste legacy contamination, specifically, a comprehensive characterization of e-waste contaminants, information on the scale of legacy contamination in developing countries and on the potential environmental damage in developed countries, and a stronger body of evidence of adverse health effects specifically ascribed to e-waste contaminants. However, the knowledge accumulated to date is sufficient to raise awareness and concern among all stakeholders. Potential solutions to curb e-waste issues should be addressed comprehensively, by focusing on two fronts: upstream and downstream. Potential upstream solutions should focus on more rational and eco-oriented consumer habits in order to decrease e-waste quantities while fostering ethical and sustained commitments from manufacturers, which include a limited usage of hazardous compounds and an optimal increase in e-waste recyclability. At the downstream level, solutions should include suitable and pragmatic actions to progressively reduce the illegal e-waste trade particularly through international cooperation and coordination, better enforcement of domestic laws, and monitoring in both exporting and receiving countries, along with the supervised integration of the informal sector into the recycling system of developing countries and global expansion of formal e-waste collection and recycling activities. Downstream solutions should also introduce stronger reverse logistics, together with upgraded, more affordable, and eco-friendly and worker-friendly e-recycling technologies to ensure that benefits are derived fully and safely from the great economic potential of e-waste.

Introduction

Among other terms, electrical and electronic waste (e-waste), or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), are terms used to cover electrical and electronic equipment discarded as waste without intent of reuse (Step, 2014). E-waste offers particularly high potential for recovery as it contains valuable recyclable components such as gold, platinum and silver. However, e-waste also contains non-negligible amounts of potentially toxic substances (e.g., cadmium and lead) and is thus considered hazardous when improperly managed. These findings highlight the need for the safe and smart management (including proper recycling) and commercial exploitation of e-waste while preserving human health and environmental integrity, given the large volume of e-waste generated worldwide annually (41.8 million metric tonnes (MMT) estimated in 2014) and its fast growth (Lundgren, 2012, Kiddee et al., 2013, Cucchiella et al., 2016, Step, 2016, Baldé et al., 2015). Canada, which generated an estimated 725,000 tonnes of e-waste in 2014, is well below the 2014 top five e-waste global generators, which were the United States (7.1 MMT), China (6.0 MMT), Japan (2.2 MMT), Germany (1.8 MMT) and India (I.7 MMT). However, with 20.4 kg of e-waste generated annually per inhabitant, Canada remains one of the highest contributors to e-waste volume in relative quantities in the Americas, right between the United States (22.1 kg/in.) and the Bahamas (19.1 kg/in.) (Baldé et al., 2015).

This review aims to expose the complexity of e-waste problems. Its objectives are (a) to provide a brief overview of the historical aspects of e-waste management; (b) to identify gaps, issues and challenges that greatly complicate e-waste management; (c) to gain insight into the current e-waste legacy contamination in terms of critical, emerging or still-unknown human health issues (including occupational health concerns) and environmental contamination, and (d) to propose solutions that could potentially curb e-waste issues both upstream and downstream.

Section snippets

Background: a bird's-eye view of the history of e-waste management

In the 1970s and 1980s, hazardous waste, including e-waste, was commonly shipped from industrialized countries to less developed nations in Asia, Africa, Central America and Eastern Europe (UNEP, 2010). The hazardous waste trade is rooted in the “Not in My Back Yard” syndrome in developed countries, an expression of the public's vehement stand against poor management of hazardous waste, including e-waste. Since the 1970s, it has led to the adoption of more stringent laws in the developed

Ongoing gaps, issues and challenges in e-waste management

For e-waste management to be respectful of the environment and human health, it has to be properly and effectively handled. Effective e-waste management first consists of collecting and sorting e-waste, and repairing and reusing it whenever possible. End-of-life e-waste is then processed to remove and decontaminate all potentially toxic compounds, to properly recover valuable materials, and finally, to safely dispose of toxic parts and non-recyclable residuals (Namias, 2013, Baldé et al., 2015,

E-waste legacy contamination

E-waste handling and processing have the potential to release a complex blend of contaminants in various environmental matrices. These releases can be more or less significant, depending on the processes used and the protective measures implemented. Contaminants in e-waste are released in highly heterogeneous mixtures, whose composition varies according to e-waste types and age, as well as handling and processing. The physical state of the released contaminants varies with the nature of the

Potential solutions to curb e-waste issues

Solving e-waste issues is a long-term, challenging and costly task and calls for the full collaboration of all stakeholders involved (e.g., government, scientific community, chemical manufacturers, e-product designers, retailers and collectors, e-recyclers and end consumers). However, any action taken to address e-waste problems could benefit from a firm governmental position in terms of tighter laws, regulations and policies, including surveillance of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to adopt a holistic approach that exposes the extreme complexity of the issues, challenges and gaps (including human health concerns and environmental degradation) associated with the tricky e-waste question, and that suggests potential solutions, both upstream and downstream. The many initiatives launched thus far to advocate suitable management practices are facing disappointing realities, which are reflected in heavy legacy contamination

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST), Montreal, Quebec, Canada (grant no. 2015-0083).

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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