E-waste: a problem or an opportunity? Review of issues, challenges and solutions in Asian countries

Abstract

Safe management of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste/ WEEE) is becoming a major problem in many countries around the world. In particular, developing countries face number of issues with the generation, transboundary movement and management of e-waste. It is estimated that the world generates around 20-50 million tonnes of e-waste annually, most of it from Asian countries. Improper handling of ewaste can cause harm to the environment and human health due to its toxic components. Several countries around the world are now struggling to deal with this emerging threat. Although the current emphasis is on end-of-life management of ewaste activities such as reuse, servicing, remanufacturing, recycling and disposal; upstream reduction of e-waste generation through green design and cleaner production is gaining much attention. Environmentally sound management (ESM) of e-waste in developing countries is absent or very limited. Transboundary movement of e-waste is a major issue in the region. Dealing with the informal recycling sector is a complex social and environmental issue. There are significant numbers of such challenges faced by these countries in achieving ESM of e-waste. This paper aims to present a review of challenges and issues faced by Asian countries in managing their e-waste in a sustainable way.

The Link between e-Waste and GDP—New Insights from Data from the Pan-European Region

“…WEEE contains both hazardous and precious components, and is a rapidly growing waste stream [3][4][5]. The responsible collection and recycling of WEEE reduces environmental harm [6,7] and facilitates the recovery of valuable materials [8][9][10], including rare earth elements and other critical raw materials (e.g., indium and gallium) that are of vital importance for modern economies [11][12][13][14]. The recycling of WEEE is a complex task requiring an effective technical infrastructure and managerial framework [15,16], and it has potential to generate significant economic wealth from recovered rare and important metals [12,17,18].…”

Kinetics of Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR) Releases from Granules of Waste Plastics

“…14 With the quick generation shift of consumer electronic products, waste electric and electronic products (e-waste) have become an increasingly important component in the solid waste stream. 15 According to the estimation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about 20−50 million tonnes of e-waste is produced in the world annually, and this number is increasing rapidly. 15 Large portion of the ewaste produced in some developed countries ends up being processed and recycled in the developing countries, particularly China and India.…”

“…15 According to the estimation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about 20−50 million tonnes of e-waste is produced in the world annually, and this number is increasing rapidly. 15 Large portion of the ewaste produced in some developed countries ends up being processed and recycled in the developing countries, particularly China and India. It was estimated that about 70−80% of the ewaste generated in the U.S. had been shipped to Asian countries for informal recycling.…”

Extração De Índio a Partir De Telas De LCD De Telefones Celulares Através De Lixiviação Com Co2 Supercrítico

“…Este crescimento tão rápido das inovações faz com que os EEE se tornem obsoletos em poucos anos ou até mesmo em meses (Araújo et al, 2012;Townsend et al, 2011). Atualmente, entre os resíduos sólidos, os REEE são os que mais crescem no mundo, sendo este crescimento até três vezes mais rápido quando comparado com outras correntes de resíduos (Herat et al, 2012).…”