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A review on sustainable management strategies for navigating the piling e-waste crisis and associated environmental threats
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This review examines the growing electronic waste crisis and its environmental and health consequences, including the release of microplastics and toxic heavy metals from discarded devices. Researchers discuss sustainable recycling approaches including bioleaching, hydrometallurgy, and biodegradation of plastic components from e-waste. The study highlights that improper e-waste disposal is an underrecognized source of microplastic pollution, particularly in developing nations where formal recycling infrastructure is lacking.
In today's fast-paced technological era, multifaceted technological advancements in our contemporary lifestyle are surging the use of electronic devices, which are significantly piling e-waste and posing environmental concerns. This stock of e-waste is expected to keep rising up to 50 mt year. Formal recycling of such humongous waste is a major challenge, especially in developing nations. Mishandling of e-waste poses serious threats to human health, soil, and water ecosystem, threatening ecological and environmental sustainability. Complex matrix of resourceful materials comprising valuable metals like gold, silver, and copper, and hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants make its judicious management even more crucial. Potential toxic elements such as Pb, Cd, Cr, As, and Hg, as well as plastic/microplastics, nanoparticles are prevalent in components like batteries, cathode ray tubes, circuit boards, glass and plastic components which are known to cause neurological, renal, and developmental damage in humans. Effective and sustainable management of these requires a comprehensive understanding of their sources, environmental behavior, and toxicological impacts. This review explores potential approached for sustainable e-waste recycling (recycling of glass, plastic, rare earth metals, and base metals), and resource recycling through pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, biometallurgy, biohydrometallurgy, bioleaching and biodegradation plastic alongside challenges and prospects.
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This review explores the environmental and health challenges posed by electronic waste plastics, which contain complex mixtures of harmful chemicals. The study examines emerging biotechnological solutions such as microbial degradation and enzymatic breakdown as promising alternatives for recycling e-waste plastics, while noting that challenges related to scalability, toxicity, and economic viability remain to be addressed.
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