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The Global E-waste Monitor – 2014
Abstract and Figures
This monitor aims to present the first comprehensive assessment of e-waste volumes, their
corresponding impacts and management status on a global scale. This is measured using an
internationally-adopted measuring framework that has been developed by the Partnership on
Measuring ICT for Development (Baldé et al., 2015). The methodology calculates the amount
of e-waste generated from harmonised modelling steps and data sources. The outcomes show
an unprecedented level of accuracy and harmonisation across countries and are very useful
for international benchmarking. It is estimated that the total amount e-waste generated in
2014 was 41.8 million metric tonnes (Mt). It is forecasted to increase to 50 Mt of e-waste in
2018. This e-waste is comprised of 1.0 Mt of lamps, 6.3 Mt of screens, 3.0 Mt of small IT (such
as mobile phones, pocket calculators, personal computers, printers, etc.), 12.8 Mt of small
equipment (such as vacuum cleaners, microwaves, toasters, electric shavers, video cameras,
etc.), 11.8 Mt of large equipment (such as washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers,
electric stoves, photovoltaic panels, etc.) and 7.0 Mt of cooling and freezing equipment
(temperature exchange equipment).
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... The extensive utilization of these devices has prompted a crucial inquiry into the appropriate disposal of electronic appliances once they reach the end of their lifespan. Outdated electrical and electronic equipment, referred to as e-waste or WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment), is classified as hazardous waste (Basel Convention, 2011;Baldé et al., 2024). Such equipment contains hazardous substances like mercury, lead, and brominated flame retardants. ...
... It is suspected that a portion of this unaccountedfor e-waste is transported unlawfully across borders from more developed nations to their developing counterparts, posing significant risks to communities living near dumping sites in poorer countries (Baldé et al., 2022). In a more current report, it was identified that e-waste has risen five times faster than documented e-waste recycling (Baldé et al., 2024), which triggered the alarm more intensely. Therefore, the findings of this study may shed some light on the future of e-waste related studies that can contribute to the betterment of e-waste management practices globally. ...
The surge in electronic waste (e-waste) amid the era of digitalization has become a pressing concern. Hence, this research aims to delve into e-waste management practices within business organizations, as well as the factors influencing these practices. Additionally, the study examines whether the implementation of an eco-efficiency strategy significantly enhances these impacts. Through a combination of questionnaire surveys and interviews, the research focused on Bursa Malaysia listed firms, mainly those in the technology and telecommunications sectors. The findings underscore a notable influence of internal factors on e-waste management practices. However, the influence of external factors on these practices was observed to be contingent upon the adoption of an eco-efficiency strategy. Insights gleaned from the interviews affirm the pivotal role of internal factors, such as top management commitment, in fostering effective e-waste management practices.
... E-waste contains toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and chromium, which can leach into water systems when crudely dismantled or burnt (Robinson, 2009;Rochman et al., 2013;Gao et al., 2019). It also releases persistent organic pollutants like brominated flame retardants that bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms (Baldé et al., 2015;Zhang et al., 2022). Many urban slums in Tanzania earn livelihoods through unsafe recycling of e-waste with rudimentary techniques lacking emission controls (Magingo et al., 2017). ...
This study investigated the impacts of e-waste on water quality in three major cities of Tanzania-Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, and Arusha. Water samples were collected from sites proximate to residential-cum-e-waste hotspots and analyzed for physicochemical parameters as well as concentrations of priority toxic heavy metals and organic pollutants. Results showed pH, conductivity, TDS, and turbidity significantly exceeded national limits, implicating anthropogenic contamination. Heavy metal analysis revealed lead, cadmium, and chromium levels of 12-28, 3-5.2, and 0.8-1.2 μg/L, respectively, substantially surpassing WHO guidelines. Mwanza recorded the highest contamination, correlating with its extensive informal battery recycling (R 2 =0.82). Brominated flame retardants were also widely detected at total sums of 35.8-64.2 ng/L, with Mwanza prominently contaminated. Comparisons validated findings corresponded to similar crude e-waste industries globally. Statistical testing confirmed pollution gradients between sites. Extrapolating impacts puts over 35 million Tanzanians potentially at risk. This comprehensive quantitative assessment definitively illustrates the gravity of water safety issues and alarming public health threats posed by unregulated e-waste practices nationally. Urgent mitigation is required to remedy contamination and protect communities from future hazardous exposures through strategic policy reforms and multistakeholder cooperation.
The rising output of electronic waste (e-waste) in the United States offers substantial environmental and economic issues. Adopting a circular economy model provides a sustainable approach by prioritizing resource efficiency, minimizing waste, and enhancing material recovery. This paper investigates the policy frameworks, technological breakthroughs, and market dynamics required for building a circular economy for e-waste in the U.S. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, combining policy analysis, technological assessment, and market evaluation, the study identifies current gaps and provides practical remedies. Findings underscore the need for consistent government policy, investment in improved recycling technologies, and the formation of viable secondary markets for recovered materials. Implementing these ideas can considerably boost e-waste management and contribute to environmental sustainability.
Abstract
Die zunehmende Menge an Elektroschrott (E-Schrott) stellt ein erhebliches Problem für Gesellschaft und Umwelt dar. Das betrifft insbesondere alte sog. Leiterplatten (WPCBs), die in der Elektronikfertigung unverzichtbar sind. Da natürliche Ressourcen aus Bergwerken knapp werden, hat die Europäischen Union den Critical Raw Material Act erlassen. Kritische Rohstoffe sollen die EU nicht mehr verlassen, sondern müssen recycelt werden. Zudem sind diese WCPBs aufgrund ihres seltenen Vorkommens, des hohen Wertes und ihrer großen Produktionsmengen von entscheidender Bedeutung, WPCBs effektiv zu recyceln und zurückzugewinnen. Das Zerkleinern von Leiterplatten ist ein entscheidender Schritt zur Rückgewinnung wertvoller Materialien. Dieses Arbeitspapier bietet einen Überblick über die -Zerkleinerung von WPCB. Er untersucht die Struktur, Arten und Zusammensetzung der WPCBs, einschließlich ihrer mechanischen Eigenschaften. Das Arbeitspapier untersucht gründlich herkömmliche mechanische Zerkleinerungsmaschinen. Die Literatur wurde dabei kritisch geprüft, um Forschungslücken und Inkonsistenzen zu identifizieren, und es werden zukünftige Richtungen für mehr Effizienz und Nachhaltigkeit vorgeschlagen. Dieser Artikel ist eine weitgehende Übersetzung, Überarbeitung und Ergänzung des Artikels von Abbadi, Rácz & & Bokányi (2024).
The rapid rise of electronic waste (commonly referred to as "e-waste") has become a world's growing challenge which should be managed by creative approaches. The number of e-waste produced is estimated to be 53.6 million metric tons in 2019. From this we can see that the seriousness of the issue direly calls upon taking the measures to prevent the environmental and public health risks associated with this expanding crisis [1]. Since a lot of the e-waste may contain hazardous materials such as mercury, lead and cadmium, which can impact the health and the environment if not treated properly, the mismanagement of it increases the problem [2]. In the case of e-waste, there is wide assortment of the electronic devices and components hence, it becomes difficult to classify them into their product categories properly. Sorting processes can't keep up with the pace of production waste as a result of being tedious, error-prone, and slow. This research employs deep learning approaches to segregate E-waste items using images for automated category. Utilizing contemporary models like VGG16, DenseNet121, InceptionV3, MobileNetV3, and ResNet50, the research designs classification systems that have these great attributes. Dataset building (training and assessment) become easy when an extensive dataset of 3000 images from 10 different types of equipment is developed. This research study helps to offer useful implications for managing current methods of electronic waste disposal and developing sustainable circular economies with quantitative analyzing of model performance factors that include accuracy, precision, F1- score, mean squared error (MSE), and mean absolute error (MAE).
Globally, every year, electronic and electrical equipment trash is produced 20–50 million tonnes due to the rapid expansion in population. Its poisonous heavy metal composition creates health problems for people, animals, and plants in the environment. Various biological, chemical, and physical techniques were employed to remove precious metals from environmental electronic waste. One of the traditional methods for recovering PCB metals from chemical leaching is using different chemical compounds. Furthermore, some severe ecological challenges are associated with conventional methods that generate secondary pollution and are often costly. Bioleaching is given additional attention because it is more effective at recovering metal from printed circuit boards and is cost-effective and environmentally friendly. E-waste management is crucial since it contains many toxic materials, including metals, polymers, and refractory materials, that are dangerous or problematic for the atmosphere and human health. Hence, this research provides an overview of the current industrial methods for metal recycling, their mechanism, and factors that affect metal removal efficiency and discusses the e-waste management strategy followed by different nations.
The current linear economy, with its “take-make-dispose” approach, has led to an unprecedented level of waste generation related to the end-of-life of electronics products, entailing huge impacts on climate change, pollution and resource depletion. Against this trend, product repairability is a preferred Circular Economy strategy to extend product lifespan and contrast obsolescence. It is strongly advocated by consumer movements (“Right to Repair”) and supported by environmental policies, such as the European Union Circular Economy Action Plan. To be effective, a repairability strategy has to be defined at the product design stage. However, many electronics products are still designed with built-in obsolescence. In literature, Design for Repair (DfR) strategies are presented in a fragmented way, with their role in fighting obsolescence and enabling a Circular Economy being under-investigated. Through a systematic literature review, this article aims to identify the product design elements (DfR features) and detailed practical actions (DfR practices) that facilitate the repairability of products, preventing different types of product obsolescence as well as finding the indicators (DfR measures) to quantify DfR features to assess the level of product repairability. The systematic analysis revealed that, while DfR features (and the relative practices and measures) that contrast mechanical, technological and service obsolescence have been frequently investigated by the literature, lower attention has been dedicated to DfR features preventing relative obsolescence. These practices deserve more theoretical and practice-oriented research. The identified DfR features, practices and measures are then organized into a comprehensive framework, which sheds light on the operationalization of repair as a CE strategy and support designers and R&D engineers in designing products to be repaired. The framework provides guidelines to product designers and engineers to operationalize the ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ cycle of product development for repairability to increase product circularity. The framework also supports policymakers in the benchmarking and fine-tuning of currently policy adopted methods for assessing repairability at the product level.
En el desarrollo de software, la ausencia de referencias claras sobre las características clave del negocio dificulta la definición de criterios relevantes. Esta investigación presenta la metodología JAXP para digitalizar modelos de negocio orientados a la producción de servicios, prescindiendo de la intervención del autor principal. La propuesta incluye el uso del Proceso de Análisis Jerárquico (AHP) para priorizar los servicios del negocio, posteriormente se aplican de las etapas de la programación extrema: planificación, diseño, codificación y pruebas. Finalmente, se emplea la fórmula de Jaccard para evaluar el índice de similitud entre el modelo inicial y la conceptualización del nuevo. El caso de estudio, está enfocado en un sistema de gestión de residuos electrónicos, el cual permitió recuperar un modelo de negocio previamente no implementado, evidenciando el potencial de esta metodología para replicarse en otros contextos y generar valor en diversos escenarios.
The global electronic waste (e-waste) challenge is particularly acute in urbanized cities like General Santos City, Philippines, due to inadequate infrastructure, weak legal frameworks, and a reliance on informal recycling practices. Despite global advancements in recycling technologies, localized, context-specific solutions for e-waste management remain a significant gap. This study utilizes Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Semi-Partial Correlation Coefficients (SPCC) to examine e-waste categories and their recycling implications. PCA identifies Factor 1, including Temperature Exchange Equipment (TEE), Screens and monitors (S&M), and Small ICT devices (SICT), explaining 50.24% of the variance (eigenvalue = 3.014), driven by widespread ownership and common disposal patterns. Factor 2 (eigenvalue = 1.091) accounts for 18.18% of the variance, highlighting challenges in disposing of Large Electrical Equipment (LEE) and Lamps. The remaining factors (eigenvalues 0.618–0.266) emphasize the need for targeted recycling for Small Electrical Equipment (SEE) and emerging categories like medical devices, drones, and EV batteries. SPCC analysis further refines these findings, revealing a strong correlation (r = 0.509, p < 0.001) between TEE and S&M, suggesting that clustering these categories could optimize collection efforts. Moderate correlations were also found: (r = 0.419, p < 0.001) between SEE and LEE and (r = 0.395, p < 0.001) between SEE and SICT, indicating that material types and recycling convenience influence disposal practices. The weak correlation between Lamps and other categories (r = 0.067, p > 0.05) underscores the urgent need for specialized recycling solutions and establishing policy-driven collection points in high-traffic areas. This study strengthens e-waste management theory and provides a practical framework for enhancing collection systems, processing, and recycling systems, data monitoring and formalization of urban mining, and institutional mechanisms within a circular economy.
One of the ongoing issues with global sustainability in the twenty-first century is concrete. Cement has the highest carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption of all the components used in concrete, which include water, fine aggregates, cement additives, and cement itself. Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) technology has fallen behind as new technologies like Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) and LED Display Panels are constantly replacing it. As a result, there are more CRTs that need to be disposed of annually worldwide. It can modify the physical property of concrete. Use and Recycling of CRT Tube also reduce environmental hazard. Coconut coir fiber ash in concrete construction is an alternative of cement, coconut fiber ash has a good tendency when uses as a partial replacement for cement. Cement being costly material, so if partially replaced by coconut fiber ash can reduces the cost of concrete. The heat of hydration is decreased, which help in improving the drying, shrinkage and facilitate durability of the concrete mix. Coconut Fiber Ash has a tendency to increase Compressive, tensile, and flexural strength. Asbestos fibers were historically used as an additive in concrete to enhance its properties, primarily its tensile strength and resistance to cracking. The mechanical qualities of concrete, such as its tensile strength, durability, and fire resistance, were successfully improved with asbestos fibers. Because of this, asbestos-reinforced concrete gained popularity in the middle of the 20th century for a variety of building uses. This project's aim is to stop environmental damage caused by inappropriate disposal by employing it as an additional material in specially developed by Coconut Fiber Ash and CRT. The 11% of Coconut Fiber Ash and CRT powder replace with cement and with addition of 0.8% Asbestos fibers. Fiber were used as reinforcement. The compression strength test, flexural strength test, and split tensile strength test were used to determine the maximum proportion of replacement
The Partnership on Measuring ICT for development is aiming to create an internationally recognized framework for global statistics to evaluate the fate of electronic products and the resulting e-waste flows. Endorsed by
ESCAP, ESCWA, ITU, OECD, UNCTAD, UNECA, EUROSTAT, UNEP/SBC, UNU.
A total of 26.1Mg of residual waste from 3129 households in 12 Danish municipalities was analysed and revealed that 89.6kg of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), 11kg of batteries, 2.2kg of toners and 16kg of cables had been wrongfully discarded. This corresponds to a Danish household discarding 29g of WEEE (7 items per year), 4g of batteries (9 batteries per year), 1g of toners and 7g of unidentifiable cables on average per week, constituting 0.34% (w/w), 0.04% (w/w), 0.01% (w/w) and 0.09% (w/w), respectively, of residual waste. The study also found that misplaced WEEE and batteries in the residual waste constituted 16% and 39%, respectively, of what is being collected properly through the dedicated special waste collection schemes. This shows that a large amount of batteries are being discarded with the residual waste, whereas WEEE seems to be collected relatively successfully through the dedicated special waste collection schemes. Characterisation of the misplaced batteries showed that 20% (w/w) of the discarded batteries were discarded as part of WEEE (built-in). Primarily alkaline batteries, carbon zinc batteries and alkaline button cell batteries were found to be discarded with the residual household waste. Characterisation of WEEE showed that primarily small WEEE (WEEE directive categories 2, 5a, 6, 7 and 9) and light sources (WEEE directive category 5b) were misplaced. Electric tooth brushes, watches, clocks, headphones, flashlights, bicycle lights, and cables were items most frequently found. It is recommended that these findings are taken into account when designing new or improving existing special waste collection schemes. Improving the collection of WEEE is also recommended as one way to also improve the collection of batteries due to the large fraction of batteries found as built-in. The findings in this study were comparable to other western European studies, suggesting that the recommendations made in this study could apply to other western European countries as well.
WEEE Market Assessment, Deliverable 4.2 of Countering WEEE illegal Trade Project
- C P Baldé
- J Huisman
- F Wang
- L Herreras
Baldé, C. P., J. Huisman, F. Wang and L. Herreras
(2014). WEEE Market Assessment, Deliverable
4.2 of Countering WEEE illegal Trade Project
(Internal document), United Nations University.
Quantitative Characterization of Domestic and Transboundary Flows of Used Electronics, Analysis of Generation, Collection, and Export in the United States
- H Duan
- T R Miller
- J Gregory
- R Kirchain
Duan, H. Miller, T.R. Gregory, J. Kirchain, R. (2013)
Quantitative Characterization of Domestic and
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Analysis of Generation, Collection, and Export in
the United States. MIT, 2013
How to dispose and recycle electronic waste responsibly
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of the European Parliament and of the Council
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to dispose and recycle electronic waste
responsibly." from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/
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Study on collection rates of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Preliminary version
- F Magalini
- F Wang
- J Huisman
- R Kuehr
- K Baldé
- V V Straalen
- M Hestin
- L Lecerf
- U Sayman
- O Akpulat
Magalini, F., F. Wang, J. Huisman, R. Kuehr,
K. Baldé, V. v. Straalen, M. Hestin, L. Lecerf,
U. Sayman and O. Akpulat (2014). Study on
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equipment (WEEE) Preliminary version, subject
to final verification.
Study on the quantification of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in France
- V Monier
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S. Guilcher (2013). Study on the quantification
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