Electronic waste management approaches: An overview

Abstract

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest-growing pollution problems worldwide given the presence if a variety of toxic substances which can contaminate the environment and threaten human health, if disposal protocols are not meticulously managed. This paper presents an overview of toxic substances present in e-waste, their potential environmental and human health impacts together with management strategies currently being used in certain countries. Several tools including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Material Flow Analysis (MFA), Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) have been developed to manage e-wastes especially in developed countries. The key to success in terms of e-waste management is to develop eco-design devices, properly collect e-waste, recover and recycle material by safe methods, dispose of e-waste by suitable techniques, forbid the transfer of used electronic devices to developing countries, and raise awareness of the impact of e-waste. No single tool is adequate but together they can complement each other to solve this issue. A national scheme such as EPR is a good policy in solving the growing e-waste problems.

Introduction

Managing electronic waste (or e-waste) is one of the most rapidly growing pollution problems worldwide. New technologies are rapidly superseding millions of analogue appliances leading to their disposal in prescribed landfills despite potentially their adverse impacts on the environment. The consistent advent of new designs, “smart” functions and technology during the last 20 years is causing the rapid obsolescence of many electronic items. The lifespan of many electronic goods has been substantially shortened due to advancements in electronics, attractive consumer designs and marketing and compatibility issues. For example, the average lifespan of a new computer has decreased from 4.5 years in 1992 to an estimated 2 years in 2005 and is further decreasing (Widmer et al., 2005) resulting in much greater volumes of computers for either disposal or export to developing countries. While difficult to quantify the volume of e-waste generated globally, Bushehri (2010) presented an overview of the volume of e-waste generated in a range of categories in China, Japan and US based on available information for the period 1997–2010 (Table 1). This report estimates that over 130 million computers, monitors and televisions become obsolete annually and that the annual number is growing in the United States (Bushehri, 2010). Around 500 million computers became obsolete between 1997 and 2007 in the United States alone and 610 million computers had been discarded in Japan by the end of December 2010. In China 5 million new computers and 10 million new televisions have been purchased every year since 2003 (Hicks et al., 2005), and around 1.11 million tonnes of e-waste is generated every year, mainly from electrical and electronic manufacturing and production processes, end-of-life of household appliances and information technology products, along with imports from other countries. It is reasonable to assume that a similar generation of e-waste occurs in other countries.

E-waste generation in some developing countries is not such a cause for concern at this stage because of the smaller number and longer half-life of electronic goods in those countries due to financial constraints, on both local community and national scales. The major e-waste problem in developing countries arises from the importation of e-waste and electronic goods from developed countries because it is the older, less ecologically friendly equipment that is discarded from these Western countries 80% of all e-waste in developed countries is being exported (Hicks et al., 2005). Limited safeguards, legislation, policies and enforcement of the safe disposal of imported e-waste and electronic goods have led to serious human and environmental problems in these countries. For instance, e-waste disposal impacts on human health has become a serious issue that has already been noted in case studies from China (Chan et al., 2007, Huo et al., 2007, Qu et al., 2007, Wang et al., 2009b, Xing et al., 2009, Zhao et al., 2008, Zheng et al., 2008). Concern arises not just from the large volume of e-waste imported into developing countries but also with the large range of toxic chemicals associated with this e-waste. Numerous researchers have demonstrated that toxic metals and polyhalogenated organics including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) can be released from e-waste, posing serious risks of harm to humans and the environment (Czuczwa and Hites, 1984, Robinson, 2009, Williams et al., 2008). A review of published reports on e-waste problems in developing countries, and countries in transition, showed that China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Thailand, and African countries such as Nigeria, receive e-waste from developed countries although specific e-waste problems differ considerably between countries. For instance, African countries mainly reuse disposed electronic products whereas Asian countries dismantle those often using unsafe procedures (US Government Accountability Office, 2008, Wong et al., 2007a). Social and human health problems have been recognised in some developing countries and it is worth noting that China, India, and some other Asian countries have recently amended their laws to address the management and disposal of e-waste imports (Widmer et al., 2005). Moreover, some manufacturers of electronic goods have attempted to safely dispose of e-waste with advanced technologies in both developed and developing countries (US Government Accountability Office, 2008, Widmer et al., 2005). Problems associated with e-waste have been challenged by authorities in a number of countries and steps were taken to alleviate them with the introduction of management tools and laws at the national and universal levels. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) are tools to manage e-waste problems and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is the regulation for e-waste management at the national scale.

This review provides an overview of the risk that e-wastes poses to human and environmental health from recycling and landfill disposals together with tools for the management of such wastes. Human toxicity of hazardous substances in e-waste is based on published case studies from e-waste recycling in China, India and Ghana.