Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Exploring E-waste Management: Strategies and Implications

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Solid Waste Management

Abstract

Expeditious development in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) has made the machines more powerful and efficient, but at the same time, there is a simultaneous decrease in the product life leading to an extensive rise in the annual production of e-waste, i.e., electronic waste. Considering the health hazards and environmental implications of e-waste, it has become a global problem which needs serious attention. Old, outdated, and end-of-life electronic devices, e.g. cell phones, televisions, laptops, refrigerators, computers, CD players, etc. that get disposed of by the consumers are collectively known as e-waste. Recycling e-waste is essential for handling environmental pollution and health issues in human beings. At the same time, such e-waste contains many valuable resources; thus, its recycling can also address the problem of mineral resources shortage in the electronics industry. So, it is a major challenge for governments of different nations and international organizations to develop environment-friendly strategies for efficient management of e-waste in order to save mankind and the environment from its adverse effects. In order to manage e-waste effectively, especially in developing nations, feasible landfill technology, mandatory formal recycling, fixation of producer responsibility, and drafting of e-waste specific legislations are the dire need of the hour in order to make this world worth living for future generations. This chapter covers a detailed review of environmental pollution and health hazards caused by e-waste, its recycling, and other e-waste management strategies and required political and legal interventions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • A. Atasu, Operational perspectives on extended producer responsibility. J. Ind. Ecol. 23, 744 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.V.A.R. Bahubalendruni, V.P. Varupala, Disassembly sequence planning for safe disposal of end-of-life waste electric and electronic equipment. Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. 1 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-020-00994-0

  • R. Baidya, B. Debnath, S.K. Ghosh, S.W. Rhee, Supply chain analysis of e-waste processing plants in developing countries. Waste Manag. Res. 38, 173 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Chen, O.A. Ogunseitan, J. Wang, H. Chen, B. Wang, S. Chen, Evolution of electronic waste toxicity: Trends in innovation and regulation. Environ. Int. 89–90, 147 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • F. Cucchiella, I. D’Adamo, S.C. Lenny Koh, P. Rosa, Recycling of WEEEs: An economic assessment of present and future e-waste streams. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 51, 263 (2015a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • F. Cucchiella, I. D’Adamo, S.C. Lenny Koh, P. Rosa, A profitability assessment of European recycling processes treating printed circuit boards from waste electrical and electronic equipments. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 64, 749 (2015b)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DEFRA, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Guid. Report. Greenh. Gas Removals Emiss. from Domest. Woodl. Creat. (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • W.-J. Deng, E-Waste Management: Challenges and Opportunities (Springer, Singapore, 2019), pp. 15–26

    Google Scholar 

  • H. Duan, J. Wang, Q. Huang, Encouraging the environmentally sound management of C&D waste in China: An integrative review and research agenda. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 43, 611 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EC Directive, Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, WEEE. Off. J. Eur. Union L 197, 38 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  • V.K. Garlapati, E-waste in India and developed countries: Management, recycling, business and biotechnological initiatives. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 54, 874 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • K. Grant, F.C. Goldizen, P.D. Sly, M.N. Brune, M. Neira, M. van den Berg, R.E. Norman, Health consequences of exposure to e-waste: A systematic review. Lancet Glob. Health 1, e350 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. Guarnieri, L.C. e Silva, L.H. Xavier, G.L.D. Chaves, Recycling Challenges for Electronic Consumer Products to E-Waste: A Developing Countries’ Perspective (Springer, Cham, 2020), pp. 81–110

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Hicks, R. Dietmar, M. Eugster, The recycling and disposal of electrical and electronic waste in China – Legislative and market responses. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 25, 459 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L.M. Hilty, Electronic waste – An emerging risk? Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 25, 431 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Hischier, I. Baudin, LCA study of a plasma television device. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 15, 428 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Hong, W. Shi, Y. Wang, W. Chen, X. Li, Life cycle assessment of electronic waste treatment. Waste Manag. 38, 357 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • C.L. Huang, L.J. Bao, P. Luo, Z.Y. Wang, S.M. Li, E.Y. Zeng, Potential health risk for residents around a typical e-waste recycling zone via inhalation of size-fractionated particle-bound heavy metals. J. Hazard. Mater. 317, 449 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Hula, K. Jalali, K. Hamza, S.J. Skerlos, K. Saitou, Multi-criteria decision-making for optimization of product disassembly under multiple situations. Environ. Sci. Technol. 37, 5303 (2003)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • P.O. Iniaghe, G.U. Adie, Management practices for end-of-life cathode ray tube glass: Review of advances in recycling and best available technologies. Waste Manag. Res. 33, 947 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • M.T. Islam, N. Huda, Material flow analysis (MFA) as a strategic tool in e-waste management: Applications, trends and future directions. J. Environ. Manag. 244, 344 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Johri et al., E-Waste: Implications, Regulations, and Management in India and Current Global Best Practices (The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, India 2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Y. Kazancoglu, Y.D. Ozkan-Ozen, S.K. Mangla, M. Ram, Risk assessment for sustainability in e-waste recycling in circular economy. Clean Techn. Environ. Policy 1, 3 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  • M.U. Khan, A. Besis, R.N. Malik, Environmental and Health Effects: Exposure to E-Waste Pollution (Springer, Cham, 2019), pp. 111–137

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Kiddee, R. Naidu, M.H. Wong, Electronic waste management approaches: An overview. Waste Manag. 33, 1237 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Kim, J.-S. Park, T.F. Yen, Feasibility study on cross-linked biopolymeric concrete encapsulating selenium glass wastes. J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc. 62, 898 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • V. Langrova, Comparative Analysis of EPR Programmes for Small Consumer Batteries: Case Study of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden. The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Lund University, Lund, 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Leal Filho, U. Saari, M. Fedoruk, A. Iital, H. Moora, M. Klöga, V. Voronova, An overview of the problems posed by plastic products and the role of extended producer responsibility in Europe. J. Clean. Prod. 214, 550 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Li, X. Zeng, M. Chen, O.A. Ogunseitan, A. Stevels, “Control-Alt-Delete”: Rebooting solutions for the e-waste problem. Environ. Sci. Technol. 49, 70 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Lindhqvist, Extended Producer Responsibility in Cleaner Production: Policy Principle to Promote Environmental Improvements of Product Systems, vol 2000. International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Lund University Lund, Sweden (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD, Extended Producer Responsibility; a Guidance Manual for Governments (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, n.d.)

    Google Scholar 

  • V. Pérez-Belis, M.D. Bovea, V. Ibáñez-Forés, An in-depth literature review of the waste electrical and electronic equipment context: Trends and evolution. Waste Manag. Res. 33, 3 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • D. Queiruga, G. Walther, J. González-Benito, T. Spengler, Evaluation of sites for the location of WEEE recycling plants in Spain. Waste Manag. 28, 181 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. Ravindra, S. Mor, E-waste generation and management practices in Chandigarh, India and economic evaluation for sustainable recycling. J. Clean. Prod. 221, 286 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • B.H. Robinson, E-waste: An assessment of global production and environmental impacts. Sci. Total Environ. 408, 183 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • R.K. Saran, S. Yadav, Significance of Electronic Waste Management for Sustainable Industrial Production (Springer, Singapore, 2019), pp. 241–249

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Shinkuma, N.T.M. Huong, The flow of e-waste material in the Asian region and a reconsideration of international trade policies on e-waste. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 29, 25 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Sthiannopkao, M.H. Wong, Handling e-waste in developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and consequences. Sci. Total Environ. 463–464, 1147 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Streicher-Porte, H.P. Bader, R. Scheidegger, S. Kytzia, Material flow and economic analysis as a suitable tool for system analysis under the constraints oef poor data availability and quality in emerging economies. Clean Techn. Environ. Policy 9, 325 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Tariq, E.K. Yanful, A review of binders used in cemented paste tailings for underground and surface disposal practices. J. Environ. Manag. 131, 138 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US Government Accountability Office, Electronic Waste: EPA Needs to Better Control Harmful US Exports Through Stronger Enforcement and More Comprehensive Regulation (US Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, 2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Van Rossem, N. Tojo, T. Lindhqvist, Extended Producer Responsibility: An Examination of Its Impact on Innovation and Greening Products (Greenpeace International, Amsterdam, 2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Villares, A. Işıldar, C. van der Giesen, J. Guinée, Does ex ante application enhance the usefulness of LCA? A case study on an emerging technology for metal recovery from e-waste. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 22, 1618 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P.A. Wäger, R. Hischier, M. Eugster, Environmental impacts of the Swiss collection and recovery systems for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE): A follow-up. Sci. Total Environ. 409, 1746 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • S.B. Wath, P.S. Dutt, T. Chakrabarti, E-waste scenario in India, its management and implications. Environ. Monit. Assess. 172, 249 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Wibowo, H. Deng, Multi-criteria group decision making for evaluating the performance of e-waste recycling programs under uncertainty. Waste Manag. 40, 127 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Widmer, H. Oswald-Krapf, D. Sinha-Khetriwal, M. Schnellmann, H. Böni, Global perspectives on e-waste. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 25, 436 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Y. Xu, C.H. Yeh, S. Yang, B. Gupta, Risk-based performance evaluation of improvement strategies for sustainable e-waste management. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 155, 104664 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Yang, Q. Tan, L. Liu, Q. Dong, J. Li, Recycling tin from electronic waste: A problem that needs more attention. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 5, 9586 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Yoshida, T. Tasaki, A. Terazono, Material flow analysis of used personal computers in Japan. Waste Manag. 29, 1602 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • X. Zeng, C. Yang, J.F. Chiang, J. Li, Innovating e-waste management: From macroscopic to microscopic scales. Sci. Total Environ. 575, 1 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • H. Zhou, N.F.Y. Tam, S.G. Cheung, P. Wei, S. Li, Q. Wu, Contamination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in watershed sediments and plants adjacent to e-waste sites. J. Hazard. Mater. 379, 120788 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Guru Nanak College, Budhlada, Punjab, India

    Nitika Goyal

  2. Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab, India

    Deepam Goyal

Authors
  1. Nitika Goyal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Deepam Goyal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Center, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Chinnappan Baskar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapur, Singapore

    Seeram Ramakrishna

  3. Chemistry and Bioprospecting Division, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    Shikha Baskar

  4. Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Rashmi Sharma

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Amutha Chinnappan

  6. Department of Basic science, Sardar Vallabh bahi Patel university of agriculture and technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Rashmi Sehrawat

Section Editor information

  1. Research and Development Center, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, India

    Chinnappan Baskar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Goyal, N., Goyal, D. (2021). Exploring E-waste Management: Strategies and Implications. In: Baskar, C., Ramakrishna, S., Baskar, S., Sharma, R., Chinnappan, A., Sehrawat, R. (eds) Handbook of Solid Waste Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7525-9_70-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7525-9_70-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-7525-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-7525-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation