Electronic waste management approaches: An overview

Peeranart KIDDEE, Ravi NAIDU, Ming Hung WONG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

646 Citations (Scopus)

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. Copyright © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1237-1250
JournalWaste Management
Volume33
Issue number5
Early online date09 Feb 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2013

Citation

Kiddee, P., Naidu, R., & Wong, M. H. (2013). Electronic waste management approaches: An overview. Waste Management, 33(5), 1237-1250. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2013.01.006

Keywords

  • Electronic waste
  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
  • Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
  • Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA)
  • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

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