Abstract
Electronic waste commonly called e-waste has become a major problem due to its public health and environmental issues. The amount of e-waste generated nowadays is skyrocketing, and it has become one of the major portions of municipal waste throughout the world. All the e-waste contains some form of recyclable material like gold, silver, and copper, which, if brought back to the production cycle by recycling, will generate income for both individuals and enterprises. However, due to technological challenges, these materials cannot be retrieved. In many developing countries, e-waste is collected by the informal sector, and they use processes such as acid bath, incineration, wet chemical processing, or landfills to dispose of the e-waste, which result in direct exposure and can wreak havoc on the humankind and environment. So, this gives an opportunity to the government to collaborate the informal sector with formal sector since the latter is equipped with advanced technology to handle e-waste. Consequently, by using the well-established collection network of the informal sector, it will save the cost of collection, which can be invested to upgrade and improve e-waste management. Start-ups working in e-waste management should be encouraged by providing financial support. So along with enhancing current technology and laws, new hands-on innovative ideas are always welcome to solve this menace. This chapter provides an insight on the technological challenges faced while disposing of e-waste and how this field provide ample opportunity to researchers and entrepreneurs to make the process of disposing of e-waste more efficient and profitable.
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Abbreviations
- Ag:
-
Silver
- Al:
-
Aluminum
- As:
-
Arsenic
- Ba:
-
Barium
- Be:
-
Beryllium
- BFR:
-
Brominated flame retardants
- Bi:
-
Bismuth
- Br2:
-
Bromine gas
- Cd:
-
Cadmium
- Ce:
-
Cerium
- CFC:
-
Chlorofluorocarbon
- CFCs:
-
Chlorofluorocarbons
- CN:
-
Cyanide
- Co:
-
Cobalt
- Cr (VI):
-
Chromium VI
- CRT:
-
Cathode-ray tube
- Cu:
-
Copper
- DNA:
-
Deoxyribonucleic acid
- Dy:
-
Dysprosium
- EEE:
-
Electrical and electronic equipment
- EPR:
-
Extended producer responsibility
- EU WEEE:
-
European Union Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment
- EU:
-
European Union
- Fe:
-
Iron
- Fe2+:
-
Ferrous ion
- GDP:
-
Gross domestic product
- GPS:
-
Global positioning systems
- HBr:
-
Hydrogen bromide
- HCl:
-
Hydrochloric acid
- HF:
-
Hydrogen fluoride
- Hg:
-
Mercury
- In:
-
Indium
- IR:
-
Infrared spectroscopy
- IT:
-
Information technology
- Kg:
-
Kilogram
- La:
-
Lanthanum
- LCD:
-
Liquid crystal display
- LED:
-
Light-emitting diode
- Li:
-
Lithium
- mm:
-
Millimeter
- MPPI:
-
Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative
- Mt:
-
Metric tons
- N:
-
Nitrogen
- Nano-Pb:
-
Lead nanoparticles
- NEPSI:
-
National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative
- NGO:
-
Nongovernment organization
- Ni:
-
Nickel
- nm:
-
Nanometer
- NTCRS:
-
National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme
- OECD:
-
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development
- PACE:
-
Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment
- PAHs:
-
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Pb:
-
Lead
- PBDD/Fs:
-
Polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans
- PBDE:
-
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
- PCB:
-
Printed circuit board
- PCBs:
-
Polychlorinated biphenyls
- PCDD/Fs:
-
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins furans
- PCDD/Fs:
-
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans
- PRO:
-
Producer responsibility organization
- RoHS:
-
Restriction of hazardous substances
- S0:
-
Sulfur
- Sb:
-
Antimony
- Se:
-
Selenium
- Sr:
-
Strontium
- StEP:
-
Solving the e-waste problem
- UV:
-
Ultraviolet
- WEEE:
-
Waste electrical and electronic equipment
- Zn:
-
Zinc
- ZnO:
-
Zinc oxide nanoparticles
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Sakhuja, D., Ghai, H., Bhatia, R.K., Bhatt, A.K. (2021). Management of e-Waste: Technological Challenges and Opportunities. 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_69-1
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