Environmental and health challenges of the global growth of electronic waste

Abstract

Electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing type ofsolid waste because of the continual improvement of elec-trical and electronic equipment. The e-waste recyclingbusiness is a large and rapidly consolidating businessin all areas of the developed world (US EnvironmentalProtection Agency 2011). The recovery of precious met-als, such as copper, gold, silver, and palladium, is theincentive for erwaste recycling.Thethreatstohealthandtheenvironment posed by e-waste must also be considered. Themanagement of e-waste has become a global challenge to theenvironment.By 2020, e-waste from old computers will have increasedby 200 % to 400 % from 2007 levels in South Africa andChina and by 500 % in India. By 2020, e-waste fromdiscarded mobile phones will be approximately 7 and 18times higher than 2007levels in China and India, respectively(United Nations Environment Programme 2012). DespiteChina’s ban on e-waste imports, the country remains a majore-waste dumping ground for developed countries. Moreover,most e-waste in China is handled improperly, with much ofthis waste incinerated by backyard recyclers to recover valu-able metals such as gold.India’s e-waste recycling industry is dominated by the so-called informal sector, where tens of thousands of people areestimated to make their living from material recovery. Manyfacilities where e-waste is processed and materials are re-covered for recycling are small, independent workshops.There are often few or no real controls over the materialsprocessed in these facilities or their emissions and dis-charges. A wide variety of organic chemicals and highconcentrations of heavy metals have been found in samplesof e-waste burning residues collected in China and India. Inaddition to the effect of the ongoing input to the environ-ment from the open burning of e-waste, workers at a site inIbrahimpur, New Delhi, India reported that food was oftencooked over burning e-waste. There is clear potential forfood to become contaminated with the hazardous chemicalsidentified in the ash from such sites (Brigden et al. 2005;United Nations Environment Programme 2009).In 2009, approximately 171,000 tons of e-waste fromconsumers, repair shops, and communal collection reachedthe informal recycling sector in Ghana. Assuming lineargrowth, the import of e-waste will double by the year2020. The current situation has led to an important informal