Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

E-waste in the international context – A review of trade flows,

regulations, hazards, waste management strategies and technologies
for value recovery
I.M.S.K. Ilankoon a,b,⇑, Yousef Ghorbani c, Meng Nan Chong a,b,d, Gamini Herath b,e, Thandazile Moyo f,
Jochen Petersen f
a
Discipline of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia
b
Global Asia in the 21st Century (GA21) Multidisciplinary Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia
c
Department of Civil, Environmental & Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, SE-971 87 Luleå, Sweden
d
Sustainable Water Alliance, Advanced Engineering Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia
e
School of Business, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia
f
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: E-waste, or waste generated from electrical and electronic equipment, is considered as one of the fastest-
Received 31 May 2018 growing waste categories, growing at a rate of 3–5% per year in the world. In 2016, 44.7 million tonnes of
Revised 10 October 2018 e-waste were generated in the world, which is equivalent to 6.1 kg for each person. E-waste is classified
Accepted 11 October 2018
as a hazardous waste, but unlike other categories, e-waste also has significant potential for value recov-
Available online 29 October 2018
ery. As a result it is traded significantly between the developed and developing world, both as waste for
disposal and as a resource for metal recovery. Only 20% of global e-waste in 2016 was properly recycled
Keywords:
or disposed of, with the fate of the remaining 80% undocumented – likely to be dumped, traded or recy-
Environmental pollution
E-waste recycling
cled under inferior conditions. This review paper provides an overview of the global e-waste resource and
Hydrometallurgy identifies the major challenges in the sector in terms of generation, global trade and waste management
Pyrometallurgy strategies. It lists the specific hazards associated with this type of waste that need to be taken into
Trans-boundary movement of e-waste account in its management and includes a detailed overview of technologies employed or proposed for
Waste management the recovery of value from e-waste. On the basis of this overview the paper identifies future directions
for effective e-waste processing towards sustainable waste/resource management. It becomes clear that
there is a strong divide between developed and developing countries with regard to this sector. While
value recovery is practiced in centralised facilities employing advanced technologies in a highly regulated
industrial environment in the developed world, in the developing world such recovery is practiced in a
largely unregulated artisanal industry employing simplistic, labour intensive and environmentally haz-
ardous approaches. Thus value is generated safely in the hi-tech environment of the developed world,
whereas environmental burdens associated with exported waste and residual waste from simplistic pro-
cessing remain largely in developing countries. It is argued that given the breadth of available technolo-
gies, a more systematic evaluation of the entire e-waste value chain needs to be conducted with a view to
establishing integrated management of this resource (in terms of well-regulated value recovery and final
residue disposal) at the appropriately local rather than global scale.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
2. E-waste global production and current trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
3. E-waste trans-boundary movement, management and international regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

⇑ Corresponding author at: Discipline of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul
Ehsan 47500, Malaysia.
E-mail addresses: saman.ilankoon@monash.edu (I.M.S.K. Ilankoon), yousef.ghorbani@ltu.se (Y. Ghorbani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.10.018
0956-053X/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 259

4. Waste management strategy – disposal, take-back and reuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

5. Hazardous substances in e-waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
6. Recovery of the valuable elements from e-waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
6.1. Principal e-waste recycling processes and process flowsheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
6.1.1. Artisanal recycling of e-waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
6.1.2. Pyrometallurgical processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
6.1.3. Hydrometallurgical processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
6.1.4. The hydrometallurgy vs. pyrometallurgy debate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
6.2. Effluent streams from e-waste recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
7. Conclusions and future directions – towards sustainable e-waste management through local industrial development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

1. Introduction mercury-containing parts, and plastics containing halogenated

flame retardants (typically bromine). These hazardous substances
Waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) is referred to may present an environmental hazard if the materials containing
as e-waste or electronic waste and it is defined as any end-of-life them are not properly disposed of (Chen et al., 2015b; Lu et al.,
or end-of-use piece of ‘‘equipment which is dependent on electrical 2015; Rucevska et al., 2015). Proper waste management strategies
currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly” and safe disposal of e-waste has thus become an emerging issue
(UNEP, 2007a, b). It covers a broad range of electronic devices, worldwide to control human health hazards and environmental
ranging from large household appliances, information technology pollution as a result of landfilling (Song and Li, 2015). Hence, it
and telecommunications equipment, lighting equipment, medical has attracted considerable attention from scientists, entrepreneurs,
devices, monitoring and control instruments, automatic dis- journalists, to governments all over the world (Chen et al., 2015a).
pensers, and consumer electronics, such as electrical and electronic E-waste contains a range of materials, such as plastics, metals
tools, toys, leisure and sports equipment, and mobile phones to and glass, some of which can be systematically recovered, thus
computers (Li et al., 2007; Huang et al., 2014; Chen et al., 2015a). making this waste stream a resource of raw materials (Fig. 1). Ari
Components of electric and electronic equipment (EEE), such as (2016) presented a generalised material composition of e-waste.
batteries, electric cables from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), printed Metals of value are found concentrated in waste printed circuit
circuit boards (PCBs), plastic casings, cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), boards (WPCBs) with a metal composition of approximately 30%,
activated glass, and lead capacitors are also classified as e-waste whereas the remaining fraction are non-metals (e.g. plastics,
(Chen et al., 2015b, Lambert et al., 2015). ceramics and resins) (Hoffmann, 1992; Li et al., 2007; Yoo et al.,
E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams world- 2009). The iron content in e-waste has no real economic value,
wide, growing at a rate of 3–5% per year (European Parliament but WPCBs contain around 20% copper as the main metallic con-
Briefing, 2015). The market demand for production of EEE is con- stituent (Table 1), which is about 10 times more than that of high
tinuously increasing, but the life span/ replacement interval of grade metallic ores (Bertram et al., 2002; Hagelüken, 2006; Liang
such products continues to decline in the course of technological et al., 2010). Although the exact chemical composition of e-waste
evolution (Huang et al., 2009, 2014). For example, the replacement changes significantly with its type, age, origin and manufacturer
interval of a personal computer (PC) and its central processing unit (Table 1, Cui and Zhang, 2008; Bigum et al., 2017), the typical gold
(CPU) has declined from 4 to 6 years in 1997 to 2–3 years in 2015 content in e-waste is in the range 80–250 g/t, which is much higher
(Yazici and Deveci, 2013; Shamim et al., 2015). PCBs are used in than the average gold content in gold ores (Hagelüken, 2006;
most EEE, that involves control or signal processing. It is under- Zhang et al., 2012). The precious metal content is critical to the
stood that the average rate of manufacture of PCBs increased by economics of recycling processes, with as much as 90% of the
8.7% per annum globally, but increased by 10.8% and 14.4% in intrinsic value of e-waste in the gold and palladium content
Southeast Asia and China, respectively (Cui and Forssberg, 2003; (Luda, 2011; Chen et al., 2015a). For example, one million mobile
Huang et al., 2009). The StEP (Solving the E-waste Problem) Annual
Report (2015/2016) recently estimated that the electronic industry
generated about 41.8 and 43.8 million tonnes of e-waste in 2014 Others, 1.38% Pollutants, 2.7%
PCBs. 1.71%
and 2015, respectively. These quantities are rising much faster
than any other form of municipal waste, and it was projected that Screens (CRT and
the figure could reach 50 million tonnes in 2020 (Baldé et al., LCD), 11.87%
2017).
The e-waste generated is valued roughly at about 20.5–25 bil- Cables, 1.97%
lion dollars per annum according to a report from the International Metal-plastic
mixture, 4.97%
Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), based on an estimated
value of a tonne of e-waste of around 500 dollars (Rucevska
et al., 2015). The United Nations University’s (UNU) 2017 report Plastics, 15.21% Metals, 60.2%
(i.e. The global e-waste monitor report 2017) estimated the total
raw material value in e-waste in 2016 as 55 billion euros (about
60 billion dollars), but only a fraction of this value is now extracted
as part of waste management practices (Baldé et al., 2017).
A key aspect for this limitation is that the e-waste stream is cat-
egorised as hazardous due to the presence of several toxic chemi-
cals and metal components and halogens in component materials. Fig. 1. Generalised material composition in e-waste. Note: Iron and steel (most
common materials) content found in WEEE is included in the metal fraction.
These are phosphor coatings of CRTs, high-lead content in the CRT Reproduced from Widmer et al. (2005) with permission from Environmental Impact
funnel glass, batteries, polychlorinated biphenyls in capacitors, Assessment Review.
260 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

Table 1
Weight compositions of different PCBs and e-waste materials (wt. %).

Materials %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8
Metals Total 33 30 28–30 40
Cu 22 10.9 10–20 15.6 20 23.47 22
Al 2.7 1.7 2 1.33
Pb 0.59 1.5 1–5 1.35 2 0.99 1.55
Ni 0.09 2.5 1–3 0.28 2 2.35 0.32
Sn 0.68 3.9 3.24 4 1.54 2.6
Fe 0.22 7.7 1.4 8 1.22 3.6
Mn 0.06
Zn 0.02 1.1 0.16 1.2 1.51
Ag (ppm) 130 81 1240 1656 3301
Au (ppm) 50 50 420 850 570 350
Pd (ppm) 20 100 43 294 1200
Pt (ppm) 30 1800
Rh (ppm) 180
Precious metals total 0.3–0.4
Metal oxidesa/Glass fibre and Total 40a 49b 30a
ceramicsb SiO2 15 41.89 15 30 46.1
Alkaline and alkaline earth oxides 6
Al2O3 6 6.97 6 41.3
Other oxides (e.g. Barium titanate) 13 3
CaO 9.95
MgO 0.48 12.3
Rare earth oxides 6
Plastics Total 30 19 30 16
Polyesters and phenolformaldehyde (C-H-O polymers) 25
Halogenated polymers (PVC, PTFE, polybromo 5 4.5–6
compounds)
N-containing polymers (nylon, polyurethanes) Less than 1
1
Kumar et al. (2014) – ground WPCBs incinerated and dissolved into aqua regia.
2
Oh et al. (2003) – categorised as metals, plastics and metal oxides.
3
Ludwig et al. (2003); Ilyas et al. (2010) – categorised as metals, plastics and ceramics.
4
Kim et al. (2004) – Incinerated PCB product at 873 K for 90 min.
5
Hoffmann (1992) – categorised as metals, plastics and metal oxides.
6
Ogunniyi and Vermaak (2009a), (2009b) – mobile phone WPCBs with hot aqua regia digestion.
7
Iji and Yokoyama (1997).
8
Kim et al. (2004) – Incinerated spent auto catalysts at 873 K for 30 min.

phones would generate 24 kg of gold, 250 kg of silver, 9 kg of pal- Several studies (e.g. Leung et al., 2008; Pinto, 2008; Tue et al.,
ladium and 9000 kg of copper (Electronics Take Back Coalition, 2013) have reported very high levels of furans, dioxins and poly-
2014). The StEP Annual Report (2015/2016) estimated the total cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (classified as persistent organic pol-
global gold content of WEEE inventory as 300 tonnes in 2014, val- lutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention) in air, heavy/toxic
ued at 10.4 billion euros. metals in water, soil and human bodies in areas, where artisanal
The metal value in e-waste is typically extracted by both for- and informal recycling is predominant. An example is a small town,
mal and informal industries. This starts from the collection, sort- Guiyu in the Guangdong province, South China, which is men-
ing, size reduction and processing. Size reduction is done so as to tioned in several case studies (e.g. Huo et al., 2007; Li et al.,
concentrate and/or liberate metals. Choice of size reduction tech- 2008). Here e-waste incineration was the predominant processing
nology is also influenced by the choice of subsequent processing method in the local economy. Even though the quantities of
techniques used to recover the metals. Integrated pyrometallurgi- e-waste currently generated are high and increasing, and the
cal and hydrometallurgical processes are carried out on a large adverse impacts on humans and the environment can be seen
scale in copper smelters for the recovery of metals. In such oper- despite efforts at national and international level to control them,
ations, e-waste is used both as a metal and energy source, but the situation could be improved by the implementation of efficient
these operations are found only in developed countries (Li waste management and recycling techniques based on rigorous
et al., 2007; Kim et al., 2011a; Huang et al., 2014). In developing legislation (Schluep et al., 2009).
countries, where semi-formal and informal extraction of metals The plastics fraction of e-waste is increasingly becoming an
are prevalent, e-waste processing is done to produce a concen- important consideration in devising waste management strategies.
trate (isolated circuit boards), which is then sold to formal These are separated into their classes; Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-
industries, mostly abroad from the point of collection. This Styrene (ABS), High Impact Polystyrene (HIP), Polycarbonate PC
informal e-waste recycling implies substantial trans-boundary and Polypropylene (PP), among others, and are individually recy-
movement of the waste, for which- reliable data is largely cled. Researchers have been investigating ways to recycle the dif-
unavailable (Shamim et al., 2015). ferent classes of plastics. Ma et al. (2016) presented a review on
While developed countries have established high capital, state- the recycling of brominated flame retardant plastics and concluded
of-art plants for the processing of various fractions and compo- that integration of pyrolysis with a catalytic upgrading process
nents of e-waste, developing countries face environmental and could provide significant economic and environmental options in
health challenges from a prevalence of artisanal and informal recy- the conversion of e-waste plastics into useful and high-value mate-
clers (i.e. secondary pollution during value recovery operations). rials (CHEMTrust, 2017; Nelson, 2017).
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 261

Waste management and recycling of e-waste is of increasing the e-waste production with GDP growth in several countries in
interest to mitigate/avoid negative impacts from their inappropri- the Pan-European region.
ate disposal as well as to recycle otherwise finite (natural) Figures reported on StEP, (accessed in April 2018) suggest each
resources. The latter is a driver for a secondary resource economy, person in Europe generated 18.7 kg of e-waste in 2014, which is a
which is well aligned with a global need to shift to sustainable threefold increase compared to the global average. The overall
resource management practices (Yu et al., 2014; Shamim et al., e-waste generation within the European Union in 2014 was about
2015). Thus waste management of e-waste has become increas- 9.5 million tonnes, which was equivalent to about 22.7% of the
ingly aligned with the resource extraction sector. total global generation in that year (StEP, 2018). The global
Even though much work has been done towards the develop- e-waste monitor report 2017 estimated 12.3 million tonnes
ment of e-waste recycling on many different fronts, the focus has e-waste generation in the European continent (including Russia,
firmly remained on maximisation of profit. We believe that 40 countries) in 2016 and it is equivalent to 16.6 kg for each
e-waste recycling needs to be practiced to recover maximum person. More importantly, the documented collected and recycled
resources rather than focussing on a few value components, such fraction was 4.3 million tonnes or 35%, which was the highest in
as precious metals and copper, and to obtain maximum benefits the world (Baldé et al., 2017).
to all stakeholders. The objective of this paper is to give a compre- According to USA EPA (United States Environmental Protection
hensive overview on the current research on e-waste generation, Agency) estimates, 438 million electronic devices were sold in
global trans-boundary movement, and overall e-waste manage- 2009 in the USA, which was a twofold increase compared to the
ment strategies, as well as various routes to e-waste value recovery sales in 1997. Mobile devices are the main portion of this, and a
to highlight the challenges and opportunities that exists in a global nine-fold increase was reported (USA Interagency Task Force on
comparison. Electronics Stewardship, 2014). EPA also estimated the generation
of consumer electronic products (i.e. products in use in residences
and commercial establishments, such as businesses) in 2013 and
2. E-waste global production and current trends 2014, based on product lifespan analysis, and the volume was
about 3.36 million tonnes (US EPA, 2016b). The StEP figures also
Annex 1A of the EU WEEE directive (Directive 2002/96/EC) highlight the high e-waste production values in the USA, where
states the typical categories of electronic equipment that eventu- each person contributes 22.1 kg to the total in 2014, which is even
ally produce WEEE (UNEP, 2007a). This waste stream can be cate- higher than that in the European Union. The total e-waste genera-
gorised as one of the problematic wastes involved in tion in the USA has been estimated to be about 7 million tonnes
environmental pollution, based on various global, regional and (StEP, 2018). The global e-waste monitor report 2017 presented
national reports and inspections (Song and Li, 2014; Baldé et al., the e-waste generation in the North, South and Central America
2015; Rucevska et al., 2015). Although different reports show vary- as 7, 3 and 1.3 million tonnes, respectively. The total was 11.3 mil-
ing assessments in terms of the predicted e-waste volume, all of lion tonnes in 2016 (35 countries) and each person generated
them confirm increasing quantities over time. There are a number 11.6 kg of e-waste. However, only 1.9 million tonnes of e-waste
of reasons for this, first among them being, increasing consumer or 17% was formally collected and recycled in 2016 (Baldé et al.,
demand and high rate of obsolescence both of which have resulted 2017).
in increased production rates of electronic equipment and 18.2 million tonnes or 40.7% of the total e-waste was generated
increased generation of e-waste. The second factor is the short life in Asia (49 countries) in 2016 and the per-capita e-waste genera-
span/replacement interval (e.g. mobile phones, personal comput- tion was 4.2 kg. Despite that high volume only about 2.7 million
ers) of most of the currently in-use electronic equipment tonnes were reported to be formally collected and recycled
(Macauley et al., 2003; Deng et al., 2006). Thirdly, the difference
between production and recycling rates, which is poor (see below),
contributing to the overall generation of larger quantities of Table 2
e-waste inventories. The understanding of the production of Global and selected country e-waste production in 2014 and 2016. Source: The global
e-waste at different levels is important in order to address this glo- e-waste monitor 2017 (Baldé et al., 2017); StEP, e-waste world map (StEP, 2018).
bal issue as it provides management measures at the correct scale. Country/Region Per capita Total e-waste production
According to the UNU 2014 and 2016 estimates (The global production (kg) (million tonnes)
e-waste monitor reports 2014 and 2017), only about 15% (6.5 mil- World (2014 data) 5.9 41.8
lion tonnes) and 20% (8.9 million tonnes) was formally collected World (2016 data) 6.1 44.7
and treated, compared to 41.8 and 44.7 million metric tonnes of World (2021 estimated) 6.8 52.2
e-waste generation in 2014 and 2016, respectively (Baldé et al., United Kingdom 23.5 1.50
USA 22.1 7
2015, 2017). Even though the figures from Europe (European Par-
Germany 21.7 1.77
liament Briefing, 2015; Baldé et al., 2017) and the USA (Electronics Hong Kong 21.5 0.16
Take Back Coalition, 2014; US EPA, 2016a) show that consumer Canada 20.4 0.72
electronics recycling is improving (41.7% – 1.4 million US short Australia 20.1 0.46
Singapore 19.6 0.11
tonnes in 2014 and 37.8% – 1.3 million US short tonnes in 2013
European Union 18.7 9.50
compared to 27% in 2000), this would not likely be the case in most Taiwan 18.6 0.44
developing countries. Japan 17.3 2.20
The global level of e-waste generated for 2014 and 2016 South Korea 15.9 0.80
amounts to 5.9 and 6.1 kg per person, respectively (Baldé et al., Malaysia 7.6 0.23
Brazil 7.0 1.40
2017; StEP, 2018). Furthermore, the Global E-waste Management
Argentina 7.0 0.29
Market Report (2011 to 2016) estimated very high global South Africa 6.6 0.35
e-waste volumes in 2016 at 93.5 million tonnes, compared to China 4.4 6.00
41.5 million tonnes reported in 2011, at a compound annual Sri Lanka 4.2 0.09
India 1.3 1.60
growth rate (CAGR) of 17.6% (Global E-waste Management
Nigeria 1.3 0.22
Market (2011–2016) Report, 2011; Shamim et al., 2015; Kumar Zambia 0.9 0.01
and Mehta, 2016). Kusch and Hills (2017) successfully correlated
262 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

(Baldé et al., 2017). China is one of the largest e-waste generators (Table 2). These developed countries initially started the ‘‘make,
in Asia. The total commercial production value of the PCBs manu- consume and dispose” electronic consumer culture, and it now
facturing industry was 10.83 to 12 billion dollars in 2006 in China seems the trend is shifting, alarmingly spreading the e-waste
(Li et al., 2007). This is the source of end-of-life electrical and elec- growth to the developing countries (Shamim et al., 2015; StEP
tronic products locally, which needs to be added to the imported Annual Report, 2015/2016).
fraction (i.e. trans-boundary movements, Section 3). The final fig- In summary, the increased e-waste production volumes both in
ure was estimated to exceed 500,000 tonnes per annum in 2011, developed and developing countries demand attention be given to
which is equivalent to about 150,000–200,000 tonnes of metals sustainable waste management and recycling/resource recovery.
(Zhang et al., 2012). In contrast, the figures given by the StEP imply This remains challenging, especially in developing countries,
that the per capita e-waste generation in China in 2014 was 4.4 kg, where efficient e-waste management systems are not fully
which translates to about 6 million tonnes considering the popula- adopted and significant trans-boundary e-waste movement is
tion in China (StEP, 2018). Lu et al. (2015) recently correlated Chi- reported.
na’s e-waste generation with the per capita GDP and the
urbanisation rate. It was found that the per capita e-waste genera- 3. E-waste trans-boundary movement, management and
tion rate is now higher than the rate of growth of per capita GDP international regulations
and more than double the urbanisation rate.
The United Nations University’s (UNU) 2017 report (i.e. The glo- Apart from high annual generation of e-waste volumes in differ-
bal e-waste monitor report 2017) also presented the total e-waste ent countries and regions, the quantities are not necessarily pro-
generation in Africa (53 countries) and Oceania (13 countries) in cessed or recycled in the same countries where they are
2016, and the volumes were 2.2 and 0.7 million tonnes, respec- generated. Instead, trans-boundary e-waste movement has typi-
tively. The per-capita generation in Africa was 1.9 kg, while the cally occurred in the past, and waste collected in developed coun-
same in Oceania was 17.3 kg, which was the highest. Only 6% of tries (e.g. United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and
the generation was reported to be collected and recycled in Ocea- Korea) tended to be exported to Asian regions (e.g. China, India),
nia. In contrast, the same figure in Africa was 0.2%, which was the where cheaper disposal facilities exist and environmental standards
lowest in 2016 (Baldé et al., 2017). and laws are less stringent and/or poorly enforced (Smith et al.,
Data on e-waste generated at the global and country level in 2006; Hotta et al., 2008; Bisschop, 2014). However, more stringent
2014 was extracted from the ‘‘StEP e-waste world map” (StEP, e-waste related laws in those countries (e.g. China RoHS 1 and 2 -
2018) and is tabulated to illustrate the contribution from selected directives on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous sub-
countries (Table 2). Developed countries, such as the USA, stances in electrical and electronic equipment, as explained below)
Germany and the United Kingdom, produce significantly more created a drive for finding alternative trans-boundary routes, for
e-waste compared to the developing countries. Even though the example, to countries in West Africa (Schmidt, 2006; Kuper and
overall e-waste generation is low in Asian countries, such as Hojsik, 2008; StEP Annual Report, 2015/2016).
Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, their per capita production Even though exact figures are not available, information on ille-
is comparable to the European Union, the USA and Canada gal shipments of WEEE were recently reported (Huisman et al.,

Table 3
International legislation and initiatives on e-waste management.

Legislation and initiatives Key features

The Basel Convention1 Reduction of hazardous waste generation and the promotion of sustainable handling techniques at the place of
disposal
The restriction of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes
Form legislative frameworks where trans-boundary movements are permissible
The European Union’s WEEE Directive2 Free take-back schemes for consumers
Reduce WEEE to landfills through collection and recovery targets
WEEE to be collected separately from other wastes
Stimulate ‘eco-design’ – product design that reduces WEEE and increases its ease of recovery
Producer responsibility for end of life treatment of their products
StEP (Solving the E-waste Problem)3 Research and piloting on e-waste treatment
Strategy and goal-setting to eliminate the e-waste problem
Training and development on e-waste issues
Establish communication and awareness among members and throughout the industry
G-8 3Rs Initiative4 Promoting 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Building a ‘‘sound-material-cycle society”
National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship (NSES), Improve design of electronic products
USA5 The Federal government leads by example
Enhance the handling and management of used or discarded electronic equipment in the USA
Reduce harm caused by used or discarded electronic equipment in developing countries
GeSI (Global e-Sustainability Initiative)6 Bring together ICT companies, industry associations and non-governmental organisations
One of the key focus area is e-waste
Achieving sustainable objectives and manage risks associated with ICT through innovative technology
IETC (International Environmental Technology Application of environmentally sound technologies (ESTS) in developing countries and countries in transition
Centre)7 – UNEP on waste management
1
Basel Convention (2017).
2
European Commission (2017b).
3
StEP (2018).
4
UNCRD – 3R initiative (2017).
5
National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship (NSES) (2011).
6
GeSI (2017).
7
IETC, UN Environment 2017.
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 263

2015; European Commission, 2017a). The Countering WEEE Illegal oped countries (however reuse and recycling of exported waste
Trade (CWIT) project (2013–2015), funded by the European com- is still allowed) (Schmidt, 2006; Basel Convention, 2017). Several
munity’s seventh framework programme, initiated provision of a authors (e.g. Herat and Pariatamby, 2012; Shamim et al., 2015)
set of recommendations to the European Commission in counter- reviewed in detail the key aspects of the Basel convention,
ing trans-boundary e-waste movement (Huisman et al., 2015). It including the recent developments (e.g. environmentally sound
was found that 1.5 million tonnes were expected to be exported management (ESM) of electrical and electronic waste) and
out of the Europe, and that fraction includes documented exports e-waste classifications. Herat and Pariatamby (2012) expressed
of used equipment (200,000 tonnes), undocumented exports of the concern that the use of common shipment codes known
used equipment (900,000 tonnes) and undocumented exports of as harmonised system codes (HS codes) for both new and used
waste (400,000 tonnes) (Huisman et al., 2015). This strongly calls electronic equipment shipments has struggled to adopt the
for more responsible management of e-waste quantities generated, Basel convention.
at both local and global levels. One of the most critical reasons for The EU formed the WEEE directive (Directive 2002/96/EC in
such trans-boundary movement of e-waste is that the cost of metal February 2003) and it promotes reuse compared to recycling. The
treatment/extraction exceeds the potential value generated from directive also emphasises that producers must take responsibility
metals if done in the countries of their origin. These countries also for collection and treatment of their end-of-life equipment (Sec-
have strict environmental regulations regarding the disposal of tion 4) (Computer Aid International, 2010). It was reported that
wastes from recycling processes or of unprocessed materials within the first few years since the implementation of the WEEE
(Shamim et al., 2015), making disposal a costly option. Since labour directive, about 67% of collected e-waste in Europe remained com-
costs are cheaper in developing countries, taxes are typically pletely unaccounted for. This fraction was probably landfilled, pro-
evaded and disposal is poorly regulated, exports to developing cessed using substandard techniques or illegally exported to
countries (legally or illegally) are economically favourable developing countries (Computer Aid International, 2010;
(Sepúlveda et al., 2010). At the global level, the illegal trans- Khetriwal et al., 2011). Since the initial legislative framework did
boundary movement of WEEE from developed countries to devel- not achieve the desired aims, the European Commission revised
oping countries needs to be prohibited, preventing metal loss the directive in order to tackle the high e-waste volume generated,
and environmental pollution caused by improper recycling meth- and the new WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU) became effective in
ods (Zhang et al., 2017). February 2014 (European Commission, 2017b). The second piece
Terazono et al. (2006) expressed the view that trans-boundary of legislation is the directive on the restriction of the use of certain
movement of e-waste may be necessary to achieve sustainable hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment or
development in countries where resources are limited. Sustainable ‘‘RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC)”. This measure bans heavy metals,
development is the new paradigm that integrates the economic, such as, lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium and
environmental and social dimensions of development, and hence flame retardants, such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and
processing e-waste is important in terms of minimising the dam- polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in electronic equipment,
age to the environment. It has been suggested that used electronic and those should be substituted with safer alternatives
equipment could be reused to bridge the digital divide (i.e. acces- (European Commission, 2017b).
sibility to information and communication technologies) between The StEP is led by the Institute for the Advanced Study of Sus-
rich and poor countries and communities (Wheeland, 2010). How- tainability (UNU-IAS SCYCLE) at the UNU, and is based in Bonn,
ever, the problem is that up to 75% of the exported items are purely Germany (launched in March 2007). StEP currently has about 51
waste materials and end up in landfills regardless, causing impacts members from businesses, international organizations, govern-
for both on the local environment and humans (Schmidt, 2006). ments, non-governmental organisations and academic institutions
Huisman et al. (2015) identified that the distinction of used EEE around the world, and it initiates research and discussion among
and waste EEE is a grey area since it is subject to different legal these in tackling the e-waste problem (StEP Annual Report,
interpretations and export ban violations. For example, shipments 2015/2016; StEP, 2018).
may include used EEE with some still functioning electronic parts, The Group of Eight (G8) countries agreed to establish the 3R
but if the entire equipment is old, it has no real market value and a (reduce, reuse, and recycle) initiative, and it was subsequently
very low remaining life span. Thus, it is not clear whether the launched in Japan in 2005. The objectives were to change the pro-
intended objective (i.e. sustainable development in less developed duction and consumption habits towards a ‘‘sound-material-cycle
countries and communities) of trans-boundary movement is effec- society”. The regional 3R forum in Asia (November 2009) was also
tively accomplished or not simply reduces to waste export in established as a collaboration between the United Nations Centre
reality. for Regional Development (UNCRD), and the Ministry of the Envi-
Table 3 identifies some initiatives that have emerged to manage ronment of the Government of Japan. It also advises governments
e-waste by international organisations and agencies, and also sum- in the region on 3Rs in the overall policy, planning and develop-
marises some key features of these initiatives. It is worthwhile not- ment (UNCRD – 3R Initiative, 2017).
ing that most of these regulated initiatives are driven by certain EU Even though the United States is one of the largest producers of
countries (Shamim et al., 2015), whereas in developing countries, e-waste, the previous legislative frameworks allowed disposal of
particularly in Asia and Africa, the e-waste recycling is still largely e-waste in landfills and recycling without strict environmental reg-
unregulated and carried out in scrap yards (Sepúlveda et al., 2010). ulations. The different federal states in the United States (as of
The initiatives are thus in recognition of the need to bridge the gap 2015, 25 states and the District of Columbia) subsequently promul-
between developed and developing countries for managing gated regional laws in order to handle discarded electronic items
e-waste in terms of policies, institutional measures, infrastructures (Herat and Pariatamby, 2012; Shamim et al., 2015; US EPA,
and legislation. 2016b). In July 2011, the federal government implemented the
The Basel Convention (adopted in 1989 and entered into ‘‘National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship (NSES)” as the basis
force in 1992) was the cornerstone of an international treaty for improving the design of electronic equipment and enhancing
on the control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous the management of used or discarded electronic items. It has four
wastes and their disposal. It was designed to reduce the move- objectives, which are, namely, design of greener electronics, the
ments of e-waste (excluding radioactive waste), specifically to federal government implementing necessary changes, practising
prevent their transfer from developed countries to less devel- safe and effective e-waste management in the USA, and reducing
264 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

the adverse effects caused by exports and improving overall several countries in Australasia (Japan, China, India, Australia, Ban-
handling in developing countries (National Strategy for gladesh, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka). Other
Electronics Stewardship (NSES), 2011). The overall management reviews cover a broader spectrum of countries (Ongondo et al.,
practices and their development in the USA are detailed by 2011; Sthiannopkao and Wong, 2013), but all of these noted the
Shamim et al. (2015). In terms of handling collected e-waste, two considerable divide between developed and developing countries.
accredited certification standards are used, which are the responsi- Based on local social-techno-economic considerations, effective
ble recycling (R2) standard for electronics recyclers and the legislative frameworks and waste management strategies need to
e-StewardsÒ standard for responsible recycling and reuse of be established in developing countries to prevent trans-boundary
electronics equipmentÓ (e-StewardsÒ). The former is managed by movement of e-waste, improper waste disposal and illegal value
the sustainable electronics recycling international (SERI) and the recovery operations.
Basel action network (BAN) manages the latter (US EPA, 2016b).
Being one of the largest producers and recipients of WEEE, it is 4. Waste management strategy – disposal, take-back and reuse
critical to assess the legislation schemes implemented by China in
order to reduce the generated quantities in a sustainable manner. In terms of disposal, waste management strategy for end-of-life
Analogous to European Union’s RoHS directive, the Chinese Min- e-waste streams follow two principal routes; either, disposal
istry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has initially directly to conventional landfills by municipal solid waste (MSW)
approved (February 2006) ‘‘the measures for the administration management or indirectly as residues/discards from efforts to
of pollution control of electronic information products” and these recycle or recover value. Even though these are completely differ-
are known as new China RoHS (i.e. China RoHS 1). The new version ent routes, the adverse impacts associated with either are evident
of the legislation (i.e. China RoHS 2) was revised in July 2016. The (the latter is discussed in detail in Section 6.2). Several authors (e.g.
objective of this plan is to reduce the use of lead, mercury, cad- Li et al., 2006, 2009; Greenpeace International, 2009) discussed the
mium, and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants, such as long-term impacts of e-waste under landfill conditions and con-
PBBs and PBDEs in electronics, including equipment made for firmed that this practice is likely to cause leaching of metal ions
exports (Sepúlveda et al., 2010; MIIT, 2016; Lecler et al., 2018). (e.g. lead) and toxic chemicals and subsequent transport through
Even though the six substances have been controlled, their content ecosystems (Section 5).
limits would not become effective under the China RoHS-2 until a An intervention that encourages the considered treatment of
specified time (GreenSoft Technology Inc, 2016). Studies by Yu e-waste before disposal are so-called extended producer responsi-
et al. (2010) and Chi et al. (2011, 2014) investigated the role that bility (EPR) schemes. EPR is a powerful principle designed to
policies and existing local structures played to convert informal manage WEEE, and it is successfully implemented in developed
(and often illegal) e-waste collectors and processors into better countries, such as Japan and Switzerland. It is not a policy in itself,
organised and integrated local industries in China without over- but its principles can be implemented through a variety of policy
regulating or outright prohibiting informal activity. This could approaches. The producers are supposed to make products, which
potentially provide a model for other countries. offer high utilisation rates (objective 1 of EPR) and their materials
In general, African countries, such as Nigeria (Osibanjo and should be effectively handled or extracted by following a detailed
Nnorom, 2007; Ongondo, et al., 2011), Kenya (Ongondo et al., collection, treatment, reuse and recycling plan (objective 2 EPR).
2011; Vanegas et al., 2014) and South Africa (Ongondo, et al. If the ‘‘design for the environment (DfE)” component (objective 3
2011; Lydall et al., 2017) have reported on the poor regulatory of EPR) is not addressed by the producers, EPR and mandatory elec-
frameworks and the poor policing of the industry, which results tronic equipment take-back schemes are identical (i.e. objective 3
in unaccounted-for e-waste flows as well as a thriving illegal e- of EPR distinguishes EPR principle and take-back schemes), and
waste trade business. While these countries benefit from some of thus, the upstream DfE component becomes the core of the EPR
the international treaties signed, they still do not have the capacity principle (StEP Green Paper, 2015). Based on that, producers take
and infrastructure to ensure that the effects of participating in mandatory or voluntary responsibility for the disposal of their
some of these treaties are felt at grassroots level. In South Africa, obsolete electronic products (Herat and Pariatamby, 2012; ILO,
for example, e-waste is classified as hazardous waste and is regu- 2012). In some countries or states, local government oriented
lated under the Hazardous Substances Act 15 of 1973 (Dittke, schemes have been implemented where these may also be carried
2009). While this may seem to be a positive approach, it however out by third party organisations (TPOs) as a shared responsibility
limits how recyclers can handle this waste stream as a resource in model (i.e. both government and TPOs). Table 4 presents a sum-
promoting a cradle-to-grave approach when it comes to the life mary of this scheme reported in the StEP Green Paper (2015).
cycle of EEE. Compared to Western countries, some of which have In order to facilitate EPR schemes, ILO (2012) reported two e-
dedicated legislation for e-waste, developing countries are lagging waste collection systems, namely the collective and the clearing-
in formulating legislation and regulatory frameworks that govern house. The former relates to municipal collection and storage and
this industry. This has then resulted in e-waste being regulated it is typically funded by the producers. Within the clearinghouse
under other legal frameworks, especially those focussed on envi- approach either the producer or the retailer is responsible for the
ronmental protection, as is the case in South Africa. Such regula- collection and storage. It was found that the collective system is
tion is usually very restrictive, however, and has resulted in only preferable, even though both methods have their own advantages
a limited number of recyclers operating formally. Dittke (2009) and disadvantages (ILO, 2012). Even though effective e-waste man-
draws out the complexities brought about by legislative and regu- agement practices linked to EPR schemes are in place in developed
latory frameworks in the e-waste business. In both Nigeria and countries, the UNU’s reports in 2014 (Baldé et al., 2015) estimated
South Africa, there are at least some institutional frameworks that that 0.7 million tonnes of e-waste in the European Union will end
have been developed to regulate and support the e-waste recycling up in waste bins and it is equivalent to 8% of the total e-waste gen-
industry. Conflicting objectives may, however, result in the eration in the European Union. No similar figures were reported for
e-waste recycling becoming over-regulated (Karcher, 2017) and the rest of the world. Herat and Pariatamby (2012) advised to
thus operators remaining in the realm of informal and semi-legal design modified EPR strategies for developing countries based on
operators. their local economies and capacity to implement such schemes.
In addition, Herat and Pariatamby (2012) and Morris and Sepúlveda et al. (2010) reported that EPR plans had been drafted
Metternicht (2016) reviewed specific e-waste regulations in by Indian and Chinese governments, but deficiencies of these have
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 265

Table 4
Responsibilities of electronic product take-back schemes in different countries (after StEP Green Paper, 2015). TPOs: third party organisations.

Criterion of EPR schemes New York Switzerland UK Italy Japan

Approval of collectors and processors Government TPOs Government TPOs TPOs
Collections of payments Government TPOs TPOs TPOs TPOs
Reimbursing collectors and processors Government TPOs TPOs TPOs TPOs
Enforcement Government TPOs (but few tools available) Government Government Government

been observed while being implemented. StEP Green Paper (2015) PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and plastics (Cobbing,
also highlighted the major challenges of the implementation of EPR 2008, Sepúlveda et al., 2010; Lecler et al., 2018). The make-up of
schemes in developing countries, such as the lack of formal treat- e-waste scrap and toxic chemicals will increasingly vary due to
ment facilities, an established informal sector, illegally imported the entry of short lifespan electronic products, such as mobile
e-waste quantities, imported products from overseas manufac- phones and computers, and there will be a wider range of metals
tures, electrical products without a brand-name, and threats to encountered than the tin, lead and copper, that were traditionally
the local reuse markets. associated with PCBs (Dalrymple et al., 2007). For example, a typ-
In addition, modified EPR schemes that include regulatory ical mobile phone contains 500–1000 components, and many are
approaches on electronic equipment producers (an incentive will potentially toxic heavy metals (Song and Li, 2014). Cobbing
be provided) to manufacture green products are recommended (2008) calculated that 1450 tonnes of TBBPA
using less hazardous materials (i.e. implement DfE criterion or (tetrabromobisphenol-A, a persistent organic pollutant) would
eco-design/cleaner production) and then, subsequent e-waste have been used as a fire retardant to manufacture the 991 million
management processes will be cheap and easy (Herat and mobile phones sold in 2006.
Pariatamby, 2012; ILO, 2012). For example, lead free soldering in One old CRT screen found in television sets contains 2–3 kg of
PCB manufacturing is suggested (Herat, 2008). lead (Chen et al., 2011; Tsydenova and Bengtsson, 2011). Even
A largely under-reported aspect of e-waste management strat- though those CRT screens have now been replaced by lighter flat
egy is the reuse and repurposing of complete EEE or components screens that contain less lead (no more than 1 kg) (Bigum et al.,
of EEE. This is common in developing countries; for example South 2017), a huge amount of lead is observed entering the waste inven-
Africa and Ghana have both formal and informal businesses estab- tory due to all previously installed CRTs reaching the end of their
lished solely for the purpose of refurbishing items, such as comput- life. It was estimated that of the 2014 e-waste volume (41.8 million
ers and mobile phones, which would be regarded as end-of-use EEE tonnes) about 2.2 million tonnes were hazardous lead glass (StEP
in developed countries (Prakash and Manhart, 2010; Sarath et al., Annual Report, 2015/2016). Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors,
2015). It was reported that if the entire piece of equipment or com- lamps and alkaline batteries contain mercury, which can be extre-
ponents are still in good working conditions, ‘‘reuse” of electronic mely toxic if mobilised. For example, one of the main issues in the
equipment is far more sustainable (up to 20 times more fluorescent lamp recycling sector is the mercury contamination
environmentally beneficial) compared to recycling of the same and associated occupational exposure (Lecler et al., 2018).
(Computer Aid International, 2010; Kaya, 2016a). Hence, in order Table 5 summarises the main types of hazardous substances
to reduce amounts of e-waste generated, the former should be present in e-waste and their effects, if mobilised. However, it
extensively implemented. This would typically involve efficient should be clearly noted that many of the metallic pollutants are
management and handling of the used and discarded electronic non-hazardous in their metallic forms and become hazardous only
equipment, and it is only when the equipment or the components if ingested above certain concentrations in liquid, gaseous and
are obsolete that they may proceed to the next level of action, dust/soot forms. For this to occur, the substances need to be lea-
which is the recycling option. Similarly, usable components could ched out (solubilised) from WEEE and subsequently, soil, ground
be used to make new products. The thriving electronics industry and surface water contamination needs to occur. In e-waste recy-
in Asia could be helpful in this regard since the recycling industry cling processes, hazardous substances may be added and/or haz-
could supply usable components to manufacturers (Schmidt, ardous compounds may be formed or released and subsequently
2006). The challenges presented by this refurbishing industry, be released into the environment (ILO, 2012) – this is discussed
especially the informal sector, is that it necessitates extended and in detail in Section 6.2.
potentially unsafe storage of the EEE, either for eventual repair or Several investigators presented toxicological studies and dis-
to be able to strip it of its original parts for reuse elsewhere at a later cussed the potential human health related effects of exposure to
stage (Shamim et al., 2015) – similar to a used car scrap yard. The e-waste (e.g. Leung et al., 2007, Law et al., 2008; Tsydenova and
second reason that leads to the hoarding of WEEE, without reusing Bengtsson, 2011). Even though exposure routes depend on the sub-
usable components, is data security of electronic components, such stance and the recycling process, human exposure is most likely to
as hard disks (Garfinkel and Shelat, 2003). This aspect remains a arise through inhalation, ingestion and dermal contact (Tsydenova
largely overlooked area in e-waste management literature and and Bengtsson, 2011; Grant et al., 2013). These are typically known
future research studies need to be conducted. as direct occupational exposure routes (Wong et al., 2007a; Ma
In summary, different e-waste management strategies were et al., 2008; Grant et al., 2013). In addition, people will be exposed
identified in developing and developed countries and suitable EPR to e-waste based pollutants (e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls and
schemes need to be adopted in developing countries based on local PBDEs, lead, cadmium) through indirect routes, such as through
economies in order to improve overall e-waste management plans. physical contact with contaminated soil, dust, air, water, and food
Conventional e-waste disposal practices in landfills are not thus sources (Zou et al., 2007; Fu et al., 2008; Wu et al., 2008).
recommended due to the presence of hazardous components. Long-term exposure to e-waste based toxic chemicals (PCDD/Fs,
PBDEs, polychlorinated biphenyls, PAHs) damages the physiologi-
5. Hazardous substances in e-waste cal systems, such as nervous systems, reproductive and endocrine
systems. These chemical constituents are carcinogenic (cancer-
E-waste contains hazardous metals, such as mercury and cad- causing, e.g. PCDD/Fs, polychlorinated biphenyls, PAHs) and neuro-
mium, hazardous chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants, toxic (toxins that damages or destroys nerve tissues, e.g. PCDD/Fs,
266 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

Table 5
Hazardous substances present in e-waste and their impacts (Leung et al., 2007; Cobbing, 2008; Nnorom and Osibanjo, 2008; Frazzoli et al., 2010; Chen et al., 2011; Duan et al.,
2011; Grant et al., 2013; Wang and Xu, 2014; Hadi et al., 2015; Bigum et al., 2017).

Metal Sources Effects

Lead (Pb) CRTs (4–22% of Pb), television sets, PC monitors, batteries, PCBs, Can cause intellectual impairment in children, can damage the
light bulbs, lamps nervous, blood and reproductive systems in adults,
neurobehavioral development of children, anemia, kidney damage,
chronic neurotoxicity
Cadmium (Cd) Rechargeable computer batteries, contacts and switches, older Highly toxic and bioaccumulation in the environment, affecting the
CRTs, PCBs, Ni-Cd batteries, infrared detectors, semi-conductor kidneys and bones, possibly reproductive damage and lung
chips, ink or toner photocopying machines, CRTs, mobile phones emphysema
Mercury (Hg) Lighting devices for flat screen displays, CRTs, PCBs, thermostats, Can damage the brain and central nervous system, neurobehavioral
sensors, monitors, cold cathode fluorescent lamps (1–2 g per development of children (methylmercury), anaemia, kidney
device) damage, chronic neurotoxicity
Chromium or hexavalent Production of metal housings (anti-corrosion coatings), data tapes, Highly toxic, human carcinogens, impacts on neonates,
Chromium (Cr) floppy disks reproductive and endocrine functions
compounds
Nickel (Ni) Ni-Cd batteries, Electron gun in CRTs Increased risk of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological
deficits, developmental deficits in childhood, and high blood
pressure
POPs including brominated Used in circuit boards (fire retardants for electronic equipment), Bioaccumulation in the environment (very resistant to break
flame retardants (Penta- plastic casings of computers, cables, as dielectric fluids in down), neurotoxicity, long-term exposure can lead to impaired
, Octa-, Deca-BDE) capacitors and transformers, lubricants and coolants in generators, learning and memory functions, interfere with thyroid and
fluorescent lighting, ceiling fans, dishwashers, electric motors, oestrogen hormone systems, exposure in the womb has been
components such as connectors, mobile phones linked to behavioural problems.
Lithium (Li) Li-batteries Can cause nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, muscle weakness, fatigue,
and a dazed feeling
Barium (Ba) CRTs (2–9% Ba), fluorescent lamps Low blood potassium, cardiac arrhythmias, respiratory failure,
gastrointestinal dysfunction, paralysis, muscle twitching, and
elevated blood pressure
Zinc (Zn) CRTs, metal coatings, batteries Increased risk of copper deficiency (anemia, neurological
abnormalities)
PVC For insulation on wires and cables Incineration of PVC produces chlorinated dioxins and furans, which
are highly persistent in the environment and toxic even in very low
concentrations.
Beryllium (Be) Power supply boxes, computers, x-ray machines, ceramic Affect organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, nervous system, and
components of electronics the lymphatic system, may develop beryllium sensitization or
chronic beryllium disease

PBDEs, polychlorinated biphenyls) (Frazzoli et al., 2010; and metal ions. Lead is the most likely element to be leached from
Priyadharshini and Meenambal, 2011). Several highly toxic POPs discarded e-waste, and in acidic solutions, lead concentration can
were found in human’s blood, hair, urine, including foetuses, range from 7 to 66 mg/L (Jang and Townsend, 2003; Spalvins
among those who work in conventional e-waste recycling sites et al., 2008). Robinson (2009) reported that ozone-depleting chlo-
(Bi et al., 2007; Chan et al., 2007; Wen et al., 2008). General popu- rofluorocarbons (CFCs) escape from e-waste dumped in landfills,
lation exposure studies also indicated children’s (less than 6 years such as older obsolete refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning
old) high blood lead and cadmium levels, and they are linked to units. The StEP Annual Report (2015/2016) estimated that 4400
their parent’s involvement in primitive e-waste recycling activities tonnes of ozone depleting substances present in the refrigerants
(Huo et al., 2007; Li et al., 2008; Zheng et al., 2008). In addition, from old freezing and cooling appliances were potentially released
children who work as ‘‘scavengers” or ‘‘waste-pickers” have suf- into the atmosphere. Volatilisation of hazardous components (e.g.
fered most significant adverse impacts of informal or formal e- PBDEs, mercury) usually occurs through combustion of the hazard
waste recycling (ILO, 2012; Shamim et al., 2015). Higher blood lead bearing material, by burning or incineration of waste materials in
and chromium levels, persistent toxic substances (PTSs), respira- the absence of gas cleaning equipment (Deng et al., 2007, Sec-
tory diseases, leukemia cases, high incidence of skin damage, head- tion 6.2). For example, incineration of WEEE and batteries with
aches, vertigo, nausea, chronic gastritis and gastric and duodenal municipal waste (i.e. after collection of e-waste with municipal
ulcers have been reported by several investigators (e.g. waste without proper segregation) is common in developing coun-
Tsydenova and Bengtsson, 2011; ILO, 2012; Shamim et al., 2015), tries. Even life cycle assessment (LCA) modelling results showed
who compared the affected children with a control group, which the toxic impact of mercury on overall environmental contamina-
was not involved in recycling. Even though the adverse effects of tion (Bigum et al., 2017). Nickel, manganese, and cadmium are also
ingested individual toxic components through various exposure emitted if off-gas treatment systems are not adopted (Astrup et al.,
routes are obvious, the effects caused by the mixtures of these 2011; Bigum et al., 2017).
are not yet fully understood (Frazzoli et al., 2010; Tsydenova and Since toxic chemicals are the key components associated with
Bengtsson, 2011; Shamim et al., 2015). e-waste based hazards on humans and eco-systems, the electronics
The mobilisation of hazardous substances originating from industry has recently shown some improvements in terms of using
WEEE pollutes eco-systems both due to e-waste recycling (both less toxic substances. Certain compounds, such as PVC and BFRs,
formal and informal, Section 6.2) and conventional landfilling. have been eliminated by some of the producers (Wheeland,
Legal or illegal landfills leach toxins (e.g. PBDEs – not chemically 2010; Song and Li, 2014). Reduced use of lead, arsenic and mercury
bound to plastics, polychlorinated biphenyls) into groundwater was reported and beryllium and phthalates phase-out plans were
and air (Deng et al., 2007; Li et al., 2007; Huang et al., 2009), also initiated, even though antimony and, other toxic substances
including brominated flame retardants (BFRs) (Osako et al., 2004) and metals are still in use (Wheeland, 2010).
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 267

6. Recovery of the valuable elements from e-waste with iron filings, which produces an impure copper matrix, which is
sold to scrap merchants. Where gold contacts are processed sepa-
The major economic driving force for recycling of WEEE is the rately, they also can be recovered from solution by cementation,
value of the metallic fractions (MFs). Until recently, the general especially with zinc, which allows easy refining by fuming it off from
aim of e-waste recycling has been to separate and recover individ- the gold amalgam (Kasper et al., 2011). The operations used in arti-
ual value metals from mixed materials contained in e-waste. Pri- sanal recycling businesses vary widely, depending on the level of
marily copper and gold are extracted due to their high grade and their business structure, such as large scale semi-formal types ver-
economic value, respectively. Extraction of other metals contained sus small scale recycling in backyards. Correspondingly, the tech-
in e-waste is also considered in situations where separation and nologies employed tend to range from the primitive to the
recovery techniques are feasible and economical. The more metals relatively advanced, possibly even employing copper electro-
are to be recovered from e-waste, the more extraction steps are winning and gold electro-plating techniques.
usually carried out. The non-metallic fractions (NMFs), which take Even though the environmental consequences of primitive
up a large proportion of e-waste, were treated by incineration or recycling are well discussed in the literature (Section 6.2), it is
landfilling in the past. As discussed in Section 5, NMFs from WEEE noted that no techno-economic evaluations of such informal recy-
contain heavy metals, brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and cling processes, which would consider recovery efficiencies, metal
other toxic and hazardous substances. Since e-waste also contains purity, energy costs and cost-benefit analyses, are reported in the
plastics of different grades, some of which contain toxins, ideally e-waste recycling literature. In order to protect the environment
separation of the plastic fraction also needs to be carried out as and human health, there is an urgent need to control and monitor
one of the principles of e-waste recovery (e.g. Guo et al., 2009). the informal e-waste recycling operations (Song and Li, 2014).
The other important aspect to consider with any recycling route
is that it generates residues after the extraction processes, both
in informal and formal industries, the hazardousness of which 6.1.2. Pyrometallurgical processes
needs to be considered carefully. Being a traditional technology, pyrometallurgical treatment has
Differentiation of e-waste in general and the separation of a number of treatment options, namely, smelting in a plasma arc
metal-enriched components in particular is emphasised in the e- furnace or blast furnace, drossing, sintering, melting and reactions
waste recycling industry. Most of the value metal recycling in in a gas phase at high temperatures (Lee et al., 2007), but all of
industries, both formal and informal, is focussed on PCBs. Copper these techniques are in aid of thermo-physical separation of metal
clad laminate (CCL) is the base material of PCBs and it is produced phases. In case of PCBs, this typically gives sharper and faster sep-
through lamination with copper cladding on either one side or aration (Kumar et al., 2017), but requires a significant energy input.
both sides of reinforcing material (e.g. glass fiber or wood pulp Industrial scale e-waste pyrometallurgy requires physical sorting
paper after being soaked in resin). The typical resin types are phe- and dismantling and mechanical pre-treatment processes before
nolic, epoxy, polyimide, polytetrafluorethelene (PTFE or TEFLON) the main smelting process to maximise energy efficiency per tonne
and bismaleimide triazine (PCBCart, 2018). Some of the other of value metal produced, and it typically produces a copper alloy
metal-containing components present in e-waste are batteries, containing precious metals (Veit et al., 2014; Cui and Anderson,
transformers, capacitors and motors, for which similar technology 2016). Cui and Zhang (2008) reviewed most of the existing
routes exist. pyrometallurgical techniques, including patented methods, in
detail, and Khaliq et al. (2014) summarised industrial techniques
in the recycling business. Although pyrometallurgical processing
6.1. Principal e-waste recycling processes and process flowsheets recovers certain metal components, it generally presents only the
first separation step between a metallic and a (non-metallic) slag
Current metal extraction processes from PCBs are carried out in
informal and formal industries. In the informal industry or arti-
sanal recycling, open burning of manually separated PCBs is per-
formed to separate metals from plastics, followed by metal
leaching using acid baths. The main extraction methods in the for-
mal industry are either high temperature smelting (pyrometal-
lurgy) with subsequent hydrometallurgical refining of the
resulting blister, mattes and slags, or direct leaching of metal val-
ues from PCBs suitably reduced in size or otherwise pre-treated
and selective recovery of dissolved metals from the leach liquor.

6.1.1. Artisanal recycling of e-waste

Informal operations processing e-waste are primarily designed
to recover gold and copper since these determine the economic via-
bility of the processes. The pre-treatment methods employed in for-
mal e-waste recycling (e.g. comminution, thermal pre-treatment,
corona electrostatic separation) are not used in artisanal recycling
due to high capital and energy costs. Rather, manual sorting, dis-
mantling and open burning of e-waste is carried out, usually without
any safety procedures, nor are personal or environmental consider-
ations taken into account (Lu and Xu, 2016; Kaya, 2016b). The recy-
clers separate gold contacts, PCBs, as well as components containing
high copper content (e.g. transformers or CRT coils). Acid baths (e.g.
aqua regia, nitric acid, sulphuric acid) are then commonly used to Fig. 2. Flowsheet for Umicore’s precious and base metal operations. Reproduced
leach gold contacts and PCBs (Sheng and Etsell, 2007; Kasper et al., from Hagelüken and Corti (2010) with permission from Gold Bulletin (Creative
2011). Metal recovery from leach solutions is often by cementation Commons Attribution 4.0 International License).
268 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

phase, while incinerating organic components. Industrial pyromet- which reduces the energy costs of pyrometallurgical operations
allurgical operations are therefore coupled with further processing (Kim et al., 2013). IsaSmelt furnaces at Umicore typically require
methods, both pyro- and hydrometallurgical, to further separate 4.5% coke by mass as a reducing agent and energy source, but it
individual metals (Khaliq et al., 2014). was shown that a mixture of 1% coke and 6% e-waste would deliver
Umicore in Hoboken, Belgium, handle various waste streams similar metal and operational efficiencies (Khaliq et al., 2014;
co-processed with copper smelting; its e-waste fraction is about Umicore, 2017). Similarly, the zinc fuming furnace of the
10%, accounting for approximately 25,000 tonnes per annum. The €nnska
Ro €r smelter uses fossil fuel both as a reducing agent and fuel
recycling operations are streamlined along two processes, namely, and thus, shredded e-waste scrap ( 30 mm) was considered as an
the precious metal operations (PMOs) and the base metal opera- energy recovery source in addition to the usual metal extraction
tions (BMOs). Fig. 2 shows the flowsheet for Umicore’s PMOs and process (Mark and Lehner, 2000; Khaliq et al., 2014).
BMOs. The smelter uses IsaSmelt furnaces (1200 °C) with sub- In these formal recycling facilities, the International Labour
merged lance combustion technology. It produces a copper bullion Organisation (ILO) code of practice ‘‘safety in the use of chemicals
containing precious metals, whereas most of the other metals are at work” (ILO, 1993) is followed to improve health and safety dur-
concentrated in the lead slag. The copper bullion is then subjected ing exposure to most heavy metals and other chemicals.
to electro-refining, which separates copper from the precious met- A further aspect arising from recent studies (Reuter and van
als. The precious metals are collected as anode slimes and further Schaik, 2015; Ghodrat et al., 2018) is the deportment of minor met-
treated at the precious metal refinery. Precious metals, such as gold als in the smelting process between the melt and the slag, which is
and silver and platinum group metals (PGMs) including platinum, driven primarily by fundamental thermodynamic considerations
palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium are recovered in this and is still mostly overlooked when evaluating process routes for
flowsheet (Hagelüken, 2006; Cui and Zhang, 2008). Gold, silver, the complete recovery of all (up to 40) different metal phases con-
PGMs and copper production capacities of the Umicore plant are tained in e-waste, rather than just those of primary economic
100, 2,400, 50 and 30,000 tonnes per year, respectively. The pre- value.
cious metal recovery was over 95% and the recovered precious
metal value was 2,600 million dollars in 2007 (Hagelüken, 2006; 6.1.3. Hydrometallurgical processes
Caffarey, 2012). The lead slag (i.e. primary smelting slag) separated Hydrometallurgical treatment of e-waste has been developed
from the copper bullion is further processed at BMOs using a lead on two fronts, namely, the extraction of base metals and precious
blast furnace. It results in an impure lead bullion, nickel speiss, metals (Cui and Zhang, 2008; Kim et al., 2011b). This group of pro-
copper matte and depleted slag. The impure lead bullion is further cesses is attractive from an economic point of view due to their
treated in the lead refinery and the resultant metal residue is used suitability for small-scale applications and for the treatment of
to recover metals, such as indium, selenium and tellurium in the low-grade wastes (Innocenzi et al., 2014). Hydrometallurgical pro-
special metals refinery (Fig. 2). The nickel speiss is leached to cessing routes start with the same sorting and dismantling as is
obtain nickel sulphate, and the precious metals residue is recycled done for pyrometallurgical processing, followed by pre-treatment
back to the precious metal refinery. The copper matte from the mainly for liberation and size reduction, which are then followed
lead blast furnace returns to the main furnace (Hagelüken, 2006; by the leaching of metals by a suitable lixiviant, purification of
Cui and Zhang, 2008). pregnant leach solution and recovery of metals (Tuncuk et al,
The Noranda smelter in Quebec, Canada (currently owned by 2012; Akcil et al., 2015). In recent years, there has been an
Xstrata), treats about 100,000 tonnes of e-waste materials annually increased number of documented studies into the hydrometallur-
in addition to its feed of mined copper concentrates, and subse- gical processing of waste PCBs, including bio-leaching techniques
quently 99.1% pure copper is produced (Cui and Zhang, 2008; (e.g. Deveci et al., 2004; Pant et al., 2012). However, most of these
Khaliq et al., 2014; The Globe and Mail, 2017). The Ro €r smel-
€nnska are limited to the leaching of the metals from finely ground mate-
ter in Sweden also recycles both, high and low grade copper scrap, rial, with fewer studies reporting on the downstream processes,
accounting for 100,000 tonnes of copper per year via two separate such as metal recovery from solution and treatment of effluent
furnaces (the Kaldo furnace handles the e-waste fraction). The streams.
respective flowsheets are given by Cui and Zhang (2008) and Hydrometallurgical treatment of pre-treated e-waste material
Khaliq et al. (2014). The smelter system produces a mixed copper has been carried out through single stage (Jha et al., 2012; Petter
alloy, which will be refined to extract metals, such as copper, silver, et al., 2015; Altansukh et al., 2016) or multistage sequential leach
gold, palladium, nickel, selenium, zinc, lead, antimony, indium, and processes (Luyima et al., 2011; Birloaga et al., 2014; Birloaga and
cadmium. Gas cleaning and handling systems are also integrated, Vegliò, 2016). In addition, many of the metal extraction techniques
which capture off-gases to carry out additional combustion and have not been optimised and thus commercial-scale hydrometal-
thermal energy recovery (Mark and Lehner, 2000). lurgical operations in the e-waste recycling industry are still lim-
The Kayser Recycling System (KRS) at the Aurubis recycling cen- ited. However, several researchers (e.g. Kamberović et al., 2009,
ter in Lünen, Germany, employs e-waste as one of the inputs in 2011; Behnamfard et al., 2013) have presented lab and pilot scale
addition to copper scrap and residues. With heating oil, oxygen hydrometallurgical flowsheets for metal recovery from WPCBs.
and air, the very fast reduction process is carried out in a sub- Cui and Zhang (2008) summarised the hydrometallurgical flow-
merged lance furnace. Copper and other base metals (nickel, tin, sheets presented by Chmielewski et al. (1997), Mecucci and Scott
lead) and precious metals are enriched in an alloy with a copper (2002), and Quinet et al. (2005). Park and Fray (2009) presented
content of about 80%, which is known as black copper. The copper a flowsheet, which incorporates the use of magnetic and eddy cur-
content is enriched to 95% in a top-blown rotary converter (TBRC) rent separation to remove iron and aluminium fractions from the
followed by further processing in an anode furnace in a molten shredded PCBs prior to leaching. After the physical separation,
form to yield 99% copper. Important by-products, such as lead- the researchers used fluoroboric acid (HBF4) to leach out the solder,
tin alloy, crude nickel sulphate and anode slimes that contain pre- which was then recovered from solution using electro-winning.
cious metals are treated separately in order to extract other base (NH4)2SO4 was then used to leach copper from the residue of the
and precious metals (Aurubis Global, 2017). solder leach, and this was recovered from solution using solvent
Plastics or organic residues in pre-treated e-waste can be uti- extraction and electro-winning. Finally, precious metals were lea-
lised partly as a reducing agent and partly as a fuel substitute, ched using aqua regia at a 1:20 ratio between metals and leachate.
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 269

Fig. 3. Hydrometallurgical flowsheet for recovery of copper, silver, gold and palladium. Reproduced from Behnamfard et al. (2013) with permission from Waste Management.

Silver is relatively soluble in aqua regia and 98% was recovered stages of sulphuric acid leaching using H2O2 as an oxidant. About
without an additional treatment. Palladium forms precipitate as 11% silver was dissolved in these first two stages with most silver
Pd(NH4)2Cl6 and the extraction efficiency was 93%. Liquid-liquid (71%) and gold (84%) recovered in the third stage of acid thiourea
extraction with toluene was performed to selectively extract gold, leaching in the presence of ferric iron. The gold remaining in their
and 97% of the gold was recovered as nanoparticles by using dode- residues was then recovered (6%) in the fourth (last) stage of HCl-
canethiol and sodium borohydride (Park and Fray, 2009). NaClO-H2O2 leaching system, which also leached out 98% palla-
Behnamfard et al. (2013) presented a 4 stage leach process dium. Behnamfard et al. (2013) used cementation by iron to
(Fig. 3) in which 99% copper was recovered in the first and second recover copper and precipitated silver using NaCl from the first
270 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

Fig. 4. Typical flowsheet of a hydrometallurgical treatment of e-waste. Reproduced from Kamberović et al. (2011).

and second stage liquor, while gold and silver from the third stage would be difficult to establish small and medium scale industrial
were recovered as a precipitate using sodium borohydride hydrometallurgical operations, which treat e-waste continuously.
(NaBH4). Similarly, palladium and remaining gold from the last As mentioned earlier, relatively little consideration has been
stage were also precipitated using NaBH4 and subsequently recov- given to the deportment of up to 40 minor metals (Reuter and
ered (Behnamfard et al., 2013). van Schaik, 2015) between products and residues also in
Kamberović et al. (2009) presented a hydrometallurgical flow- hydrometallurgical processing. Although the vast variety of poten-
sheet (Fig. 4) which they tested at pilot scale and also presented tial process chemistries in hydrometallurgical processing allows a
a techno-economic evaluation, which indicated payback on invest- degree of flexibility in compiling process routes, these are still
ment after 7 years. Similar to Park and Fray (2009), their flowsheet bounded by thermodynamic constraints which still remain to be
incorporates a physical separation process to remove iron and explored.
aluminium. This is followed by a two stage leach process using sul-
phuric acid, the leachate then undergoing sequential stages to 6.1.4. The hydrometallurgy vs. pyrometallurgy debate
recover silver, copper, iron and nickel through cementation, There is a persistent trend in the literature to juxtapose
electro-winning and filtration. The residue from the sulphuric acid hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy as competing technologies,
leaching then undergoes acidic thiourea leaching in the presence of frequently with hydrometallurgy credited for being more ‘environ-
ferric, similar to that of Behnamfard et al. (2013). Although mentally friendly’, ostensibly because its processes operate at
Kamberović et al. (2009) presented optimal leaching conditions lower temperatures, are technologically simpler and do not pro-
at both laboratory and pilot scale, they did not present any recov- duce gaseous emissions that require separate treatment.
eries hence a direct comparison cannot be done. Reuter (2013) in a letter to the Editor as a critique of the review
The main energy consumption of hydrometallurgical operations by Tuncuk et al. (2012) outlines the true basis upon which such a
is associated with comminution, and this can be primary crushing comparison should be made (i.e. energy and exergy (entropy) bal-
or shredding and any subsequent comminution. However, studies ances, economic comparisons and meaningful comparison of the
of energy cost analysis have not been explicitly carried out in the waste streams generated). For example, it is often overlooked that
e-waste literature. Kamberović et al. (2011) excluded the expenses the electro-winning of copper from solution draws considerable
related to pre-treatment in their economic analysis of gold. Energy electrical power (the generation of which in turn has its own
consumption for metal recovery operations, such as electro- impacts), whereas smelting can utilise the combustion energy of
winning have not been reported, and electro-refining is considered the circuit board substrate as a fuel.
costly, which limits its industrial application (Alam et al., 2007; Lu While comprehensive analyses along such lines are being con-
and Xu, 2016). These need to be investigated to assess the feasibil- ducted for specific waste materials in the context of European
ity of the overall hydrometallurgical operations. Otherwise, it smelter-based operations (e.g. Reuter and van Schaik, 2015, 2016),
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 271

a true and meaningful comparison with a purely hydrometallurgi- (Hagelüken, 2006). Formation and emission of dioxins can also
cal process route remains outstanding. However, the debate is be controlled by using appropriate smelter operating conditions
somewhat pointless as even so-called pyrometallurgical routes (Caffarey, 2012). Furthermore, the captured SO2 gas is converted
employ a multitude of hydrometallurgical down-stream processes to sulphuric acid (Khaliq et al., 2014; Umicore, 2017).
for separation and recovery of individual metals, where the smelt- Environmental impacts due to waste management and occupa-
ing provides only the primary separation step. As the preceding tional hazards of the overall hydrometallurgical operations need to
sections have shown, systematic and efficient metal recovery from be clearly identified. Compared to pyrometallurgical operations,
e-waste always requires a complex flowsheet with many unit hydrometallurgical techniques do not release hazardous sub-
operations to prepare the feed, separate the metals (and non- stances, such as furans and dioxins, and this can be considered a
metals) and recover them either as value product or waste. Only major advantage. Nonetheless hydrometallurgical flowsheets typi-
a systematic exploration and comparison of such full flowsheets cally produce a large amount of waste acid liquid that needs to be
using the basis suggested by Reuter (2013), regardless of whether purified and recycled/regenerated (Huang et al., 2014). However, it
or not they contain pyrometallurgical process steps, would allow should be noted that while literature presents different flowsheets,
finding the overall Best Available Technology (BAT) for the little is reported on the characteristics of the effluent streams or
purpose. how they can be disposed of as benign waste or used as feed
streams in other processes. Waste water disposal and treatment
6.2. Effluent streams from e-waste recycling strategies in both informal and formal hydrometallurgical opera-
tions need to be strengthened to improve disposed water quality
The participants in the e-waste recycling sector are not aware of and reduce possible water and soil contamination.
the approved waste management strategies due to limited capital,
safety and technological access, especially in informal recycling
(Widmer et al., 2005). Thus the adverse effects of e-waste recycling 7. Conclusions and future directions – towards sustainable
both in formal and informal industries on the environment and e-waste management through local industrial development
people (both the recyclers and general population) need to be
properly examined and carefully addressed. In the last few decades, the generation of WEEE has increased
POPs or PTSs classified under the Stockholm Convention will be dramatically compared to other solid waste streams, and thus
released into the atmosphere once e-waste is incinerated during key global institutions, such as the United Nations, highlight the
crude recycling. These products could be dioxins, furans, and poly- importance of proactive and efficient management of this global-
cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. polychlorinated dibenzo-p- scale issue in a sustainable manner. Trans-boundary movement
dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)) due of e-waste has been a key point in the discussion of global
to burning of PVC plastic and wire insulation (Leung et al., 2007; e-waste management, noting that this trans-boundary movement
Li et al., 2007), and mobile phones (Moltó et al., 2011). It is is in two directions – away from highly regulated countries to
reported that the solid residues generated through artisanal recy- avoid stringent waste disposal regulations, given the potentially
cling operations are discarded in landfills. Several investigators hazardous nature of this waste stream, and, perhaps only recently,
(e.g. Leung et al., 2007; Wong et al., 2007a, 2007b) discussed the a movement back from developing countries to developed coun-
disposal practices of solid and liquid waste from e-waste recycling tries of semi-processed (dismantled and crushed) value compo-
facilities in Guiyu, a small town in Guangdong province in the nents of e-waste (especially PCBs) for recovery of the metal
South of China, where artisanal recycling of e-waste is extensively values. Due to a lack of regulation and resources, the processing
carried out (Duan et al., 2011). The average PBDEs concentration of methods employed in this latter context are often primitive, result-
the combusted residue (i.e. incinerated product) was more than ing in waste streams often more hazardous than the original e-
16,000 times higher compared to a control site unaffected by e- waste material, such as generating toxic emissions from burning
waste recycling. It is supposed that the PBDEs could transfer to of PCBs. This leaves considerable environmental impact in the orig-
the soil (additive substances which are not chemically bound) inating countries, which is mostly ignored when assessing the
when waste is dumped on the ground. Disposal of spent acid baths ‘greenness’ of industrial e-waste recycling processes in the devel-
and waste water into local surface water bodies, such as rivers, is oped world.
also reported and it causes severe surface water pollution by The large industrial scale and the fairly efficient separation of
destroying fresh water based ecosystems (Shamim et al., 2015). metals from non-metals in the pyrometallurgical process make
Wong et al. (2007b) found elevated cadmium, cobalt, copper, the downstream (largely hydrometallurgical) separation of value
nickel, lead and zinc levels in two rivers (Lianjiang and Nanyang) and contaminant phases economically viable in an industry that
near Guiyu, China. is subject to stringent environmental controls. It remains unclear
It is reported that over 95% of the feed is turned into useful whether smaller-scale processes based entirely on hydrometallur-
products in industrial pyrometallurgical operations. The depleted gical principles can achieve the same economic and environmental
blast furnace slag (silicon, aluminium and iron oxides) of the Umi- viability in this context. Systematic study of this aspect, which
core plant is used for construction purposes, such as dykes. The would invariably require the combination of process design with
small non-recyclable fraction consists of toxic elements, such as LCA tools, is still in its infancy.
cadmium and mercury, which are carefully extracted and safely In assessing the most optimal route for e-waste processing
disposed. Nonetheless, pyrometallurgical processing cannot typi- globally, much attention has been given to the assessment of
cally be considered as ‘‘green” or as one of the eco-friendly process- e-waste hazardousness (especially if partially processed), to metal
ing techniques, as it releases greenhouse gases, and produces dust, extraction and to the global streams, as was reviewed here, but the
furans and dioxins that require sophisticated (and hence costly) integration of this knowledge has remained limited. This gap
gas cleaning technologies to capture (Ilyas et al., 2010; Rodrigues determines the route forward. Integrated systems analysis and
et al., 2015). Modern industrial pyrometallurgical plants that treat comparison of different processing techniques based on energy
e-waste are equipped with these systems. The exhaust gases are and exergy balances have been attempted, but the draw-back of
continuously monitored and cleaned and, thus, the European gas such an approach is that it remains largely techno-centric. While
emission standards are maintained (e.g. ISO9001, 14001 and occu- it recognises thermodynamic limitations, it does not account for
pational health and safety assessment series or OHSAS18001) socio-economic realities, and legislative constraints and the poorly
272 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

appreciated safety aspects relating to security of electronic storage Baldé, C.P., Forti, V., Gray, V., Kuehr, R., Stegmann, P., 2017. The global e-waste
monitor – 2017. United Nations University (UNU), International
that underlie the feed streams to any particular process. A system-
Telecommunication Union (ITU) and International Solid Waste Association,
atic integration of such aspects into comparative process evalua- Bonn/Geneva/Vienna.
tion is still outstanding. Basel Convention – Controlling transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and
In order to improve waste management strategies in developing their disposal, 2017. http://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/
1271/Default.aspx (accessed 01.04.2017).
countries, rigorous legislative frameworks are required without Behnamfard, A., Salarirad, M.M., Veglio, F., 2013. Process development for recovery
any conflicting objectives with respect to the waste management, of copper and precious metals from waste printed circuit boards with
for example, e-waste collection from households. These regula- emphasize on palladium and gold leaching and precipitation. Waste Manage.
33, 2354–2363.
tions, connected to modified EPR schemes depending on the local Bertram, M., Graedel, T.E., Rechberger, H., Spatari, S., 2002. The contemporary
economy, could provide easily adoptable waste management European copper cycle: waste management sub system. Ecol. Econ. 42, 43–57.
systems generating maximum benefits to all stakeholders. More Bi, X., Thomas, G.O., Jones, K.C., Qu, W., Sheng, G., Martin, F.L., Fu, J., 2007. Exposure
of electronics dismantling workers to polybrominated diphenyl ethers,
importantly, it would minimise adverse impacts on the eco- polychlorinated biphenyls, and organochlorine pesticides in South China.
systems, fostering the United Nation’s sustainable development Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 5647–5653.
goals (SDGs) such as clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), sustain- Bigum, M., Damgaard, A., Scheutz, C., Christensen, T.H., 2017. Environmental
impacts and resource losses of incinerating misplaced household special wastes
able cities and communities (Goal 11), responsible production (WEEE, batteries, ink cartridges and cables). Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 122, 251–
and consumption (Goal 12), and life below water (Goal 14) (The 260.
United Nations: Sustainable development goals, 2018). Birloaga, I., Coman, V., Kopacek, B., Vegliò, F., 2014. An advanced study on the
hydrometallurgical processing of waste computer printed circuit boards to
A possible route that is more optimal in this broader context
extract their valuable content of metals. Waste Manage. 34, 2581–2586.
could be, for example, local/regional processing under controlled/ Birloaga, I., Vegliò, F., 2016. Study of multi-step hydrometallurgical methods to
regulated conditions – which, due to the smaller scale is likely to extract the valuable content of gold, silver and copper from waste printed
be an entirely hydrometallurgical process. This and other concepts circuit boards. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 4, 20–29.
Bisschop, L., 2014. Governance of the illegal trade in e-waste and tropical timber:
need to be studied through an integrated assessment of scenarios Case studies on transnational environmental crime. Green Criminology Series,
which takes account of the local conditions. Thus similar routes ISBN, p. 147241540X.
may result in different results depending on country, region or Caffarey, M., 2012. Umicore precious metals refining: a key partner in closing the
life cycle of EEE. In: Umicore SERDC Summit Presentation, October 2012,
municipality. Some transitional scenarios in this line have already Umicore USA.
emerged, for example in China, where reckless informal and Chan, J.K., Xing, G.H., Xu, Y., Liang, Y., Chen, L.X., Wu, S.C., Wong, C.K., Leung, C.K.,
entirely artisanal recycling has been replaced by a more evolved Wong, M.H., 2007. Body loadings and health risk assessment of polychlorinated
dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans at an intensive electronic waste recycling
industrial ecology largely under its own volition, and study of such site in China. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 7668–7674.
‘natural’ evolution can similarly provide valuable pointers on how CHEMTrust – Protecting humans and wildlife from harmful chemicals, 2017. No
to develop this waste management industry in a given local con- Brainer, The Impact of Chemicals on Children’s Brain Development: A Cause for
Concern and a Need for Action, March 2017. http://www.chemtrust.org/no-
text elsewhere in the developing world. brainer-executivesummary/ (accessed 01.10.2018).
Chen, M., Zhang, F.-S., Zhu, J., 2011. Leaching toxicity of Pb and Ba containing in
Acknowledgements cathode ray tube glasses by SEP-TCLP. In: Zhang, L., Krumdick, G.K. (Eds.),
Recycling of Electronic Waste II, Proceedings of the Second Symposium, TMS.
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.
I.M.S.K. Ilankoon is a fellow of the Global Asia in the 21st Chen, M., Huang, J., Ogunseitan, O.A., Zhu, N., Wang, Y.-M., 2015a. Comparative
Century (GA21) multidisciplinary platform at Monash University study on copper leaching from waste printed circuit boards by typical ionic
liquid acids. Waste Manage. 41, 142–147.
Malaysia. The grant was received from the sustainable develop- Chen, M., Zhang, S., Huang, J., Chen, H., 2015b. Lead during the leaching process of
ment cluster of GA21 (Grant Approval Code: GA-SD-17-L01). The copper from waste printed circuit boards by five typical ionic liquid acids. J.
first author and other Monash University Malaysia authors are Cleaner Prod. 95, 142–147.
Chi, X., Streicher-Porte, M., Wang, M.Y.L., Reuter, M.A., 2011. Informal electronic
grateful to the research funding provided by the GA21 platform. waste recycling: a sector review with special focus on China. Waste Manage. 31,
Ashane Fernando is recognised for his support for the artworks. 731–742.
J. Petersen and T. Moyo wish to acknowledge the South African Chi, X., Wang, M.Y.L., Reuter, M.A., 2014. E-waste collection channels and household
recycling behaviours in Taizhou of China. J. Cleaner Prod. 80, 87–95.
Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the Department of Science
Chmielewski, A.G., Urbanski, T.S., Migdal, W., 1997. Separation technologies for
and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South metals recovery from industrial wastes. Hydrometallurgy 45, 333–344.
Africa (NRF), who supported this work under the Chair for Minerals Cobbing, M., 2008. Toxic tech: Not in our backyard, uncovering the hidden flows of
e-waste. Greenpeace International, Amsterdam.
Beneficiation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recom-
Computer Aid International, 2010. WEEE version 2.0: What Europe must do. Special
mendations expressed in this material is that of the authors and Report Series: ICT and the Environment, September 2010.
the NRF does not accept any liability in this regard. Cui, J., Forssberg, E., 2003. Mechanical recycling of waste electric and electronic
equipment: a review. J. Hazard. Mater. 99, 243–263.
Cui, J., Zhang, L., 2008. Metallurgical recovery of metals from electronic waste: a
References review. J. Hazard. Mater. 158, 228–256.
Cui, H., Anderson, C.G., 2016. Literature review of hydrometallurgical recycling of
Alam, M.S., Tanaka, M., Koyama, K., Oishi, T., Lee, J.-C., 2007. Electrolyte purification printed circuit boards (PCBs). J. Adv. Chem. Eng. 6, 142.
in energy-saving monovalent copper electrowinning processes. Dalrymple, I., Wright, N., Kellner, R., Bains, N., Geraghty, K., Goosey, M., Lightfoot, L.,
Hydrometallurgy 87, 36–44. 2007. An integrated approach to electronic waste (WEEE) recycling. Circuit
Akcil, A., Erust, C., Gahan, S., Ozgun, M., Sahin, M., Tuncuk, A., 2015. Precious metal World 33, 52–58.
recovery from waste printed circuit boards using cyanide and non-cyanide Deng, W.J., Louie, P.K.K., Liu, W.K., Bi, X.H., Fu, J.M., Wong, M.H., 2006. Atmospheric
lixiviants – a review. Waste Manage. 45, 258–271. levels and cytotoxicity of PAHs and heavy metals in TSP and PM2.5 at an
Altansukh, B., Haga, K., Ariunbolor, N., Kawamura, S., Shibayama, A., 2016. Leaching electronic waste recycling site in southeast China. Atmos. Environ. 40, 6945–
and adsorption of gold from waste printed circuit boards using iodine-iodide 6955.
solution and activated carbon. Eng. J. 20, 29–40. Deng, W.J., Zheng, J.S., Bi, X.H., Fu, J.M., Wong, M.H., 2007. Distribution of PBDEs in
Astrup, T., Riber, C., Pedersen, A.J., 2011. Incinerator performance: effects of changes air particles from an electronic waste recycling site compared with Guangzhou
in waste input and furnace operation on air emissions and residues. Waste and Hong Kong, South China. Environ. Int. 33, 1063–1069.
Manage. Res. 29, 57–68. Deveci, H., Akcil, A., Alp, I., 2004. Bioleaching of complex zinc sulphides using
Ari, V., 2016. A review of technology of metal recovery from electronic waste. In: mesophilic and thermophilic bacteria: comparative importance of pH and iron.
Mihai, F.C. (Ed.), E-Waste in Transition – From Pollution to Resource. Hydrometallurgy 73, 293–303.
IntechOpen, pp. 121–157. Dittke, M., 2009. A review of South African environmental and general legislation
Aurubis Global, 2017. Recycling technology. https://www.aurubis.com/en/en/corp/ governing ewaste. eWASA, Johannesburg.
products/recycling/technology (accessed 01.04.2017). Duan, H., Li, J., Liu, Y., Yamazaki, N., Jiang, W., 2011. Characterization and inventory
Baldé, C.P., Wang, F., Kuehr, R., Huisman, J., 2015. The global e-waste monitor – of PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs emissions from the incineration of waste printed
2014. United Nations University, IAS – SCYCLE Bonn, Germany. circuit board. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45, 6322–6328.
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 273

Electronics Take Back Coalition, 2014. Facts and figures on e-waste and recycling. Innocenzi, V., Michelis, I.D., Kopacek, B., Vegliò, F., 2014. Yttrium recovery from
http://www.electronicstakeback.com/wp-content/uploads/Facts_and_Figures_ primary and secondary sources: a review of main hydrometallurgical processes.
on_EWaste_and_Recycling.pdf. Waste Manage. 34, 1237–1250.
European Commission, 2017a. Questions and answers on the WEEE package, Jang, Y.-C., Townsend, T.G., 2003. Leaching of lead from computer printed wire
transboundary movement of e-waste, common methodology for the calculation boards and cathode ray tubes by municipal solid waste landfill leachates.
of e-waste and compliance promotion initiative. http://ec.europa.eu/ Environ. Sci. Technol. 37, 4778–4784.
environment/pdf/27_04_2017_QA_en.pdf (accessed 01.09.2017) Jha, M.K., Kumari, A., Choubey, P.K., Lee, J., Kumar, V., Jeong, J., 2012. Leaching of lead
European Commission, 2017b. Environment-Waste. http://ec.europa.eu/ from solder material of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs). Hydrometallurgy
environment/waste/weee/index_en.htm (accessed 01.04.2017). 121–124, 28–34.
European Parliament Briefing, 2015. Understanding waste streams: treatment of Kamberović, Ž., Korać, M., Ivšić, D., Nikolić, V., Ranitović, M., 2009.
specific waste. In: European Parliamentary Research Service, July 2015. Hydrometallurgical process for extraction of metals from electronic waste-
Fu, J., Zhou, Q., Liu, J., Liu, W., Wang, T., Zhang, Q., Jiang, G., 2008. High levels of part 1: material characterization and process option selection. Assoc. Metall.
heavy metals in rice (Oryza sativa L.) from a typical e-waste recycling area in Eng. Serbia (AMES), 231–243.
southeast China and its potential risk to human health. Chemosphere 71, 1269– Kamberović, Ž., Korać, M., Ranitović, M., 2011. Hydrometallurgical process for
1275. extraction of metals from electronic waste-part 2: development of the
Frazzoli, C., Orisakwe, O.E., Dragone, R., Mantovani, A., 2010. Diagnostic health risk processes for the recovery of copper from printed circuit boards (PCB). Assoc.
assessment of electronic waste on the general population in developing Metall. Eng. Serbia (AMES), 139–149.
countries’ scenarios. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 30, 388–399. Karcher, S. 2017. Setting the scene: a baseline analysis of the key policy elements,
Garfinkel, S.L., Shelat, A., 2003. Remembrance of data passed: a study of disk operational systems and stakeholders driving and stifling responsible e-waste
sanitization practices. IEEE Comput. Soc.: IEEE Secur. Priv. 2003, 17–27. management in South Africa. In: Proceedings of World Resources Forum
GeSI (Global e-Sustainability Initiative), 2017. http://gesi.org/ (accessed 01.04. Conference, CICG Geneva, Switzerland, October 2017.
2017). Kasper, A.C., Berselli, G.B.T., Freitas, B.D., Tenório, J.A.S., Bernardes, A.M., Veit, H.M.,
Ghodrat, M., Rhamdhani, M.A., Khaliq, A., Brooks, G., Samali, B., 2018. 2011. Printed wiring boards for mobile phones: Characterization and recycling
Thermodynamic analysis of metals recycling out of waste printed circuit of copper. Waste Manage. 31, 2536–2545.
board through secondary copper smelting. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manage. 20, Kaya, M., 2016a. Recovery of metals from electronic waste by physical and chemical
386–401. recycling processes. World Acad. Sci. Eng. Technol. 10, 259–270.
Global E-Waste Management Market (2011–2016) Report, 2011. Report Code: SE Kaya, M., 2016b. Recovery of metals and non-metals from electronic waste by
1588, marketsandmarkets.com, August 2011. physical and chemical recycling processes. Waste Manage. 57, 64–90.
Grant, K., Goldizen, F.C., Sly, P.D., Brune, M.N., Neira, M., Van den Berg, M., Norman, Khaliq, A., Rhamdhani, M.A., Brooks, G., Masood, S., 2014. Metal extraction
R.E., 2013. Health consequences of exposure to e-waste: a systematic review. processes for electronic waste and existing industrial routes: a review and
Lancet Global Health 1, 350–361. Australian perspective. Resources 3, 152–179.
Greenpeace International, 2009. Where does e-waste end up?. http:// Khetriwal, D.S., Widmer, R., Kuehr, R., Huisman, J., 2011. One WEEE, many species:
www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/the-e- lessons from the European experience. Waste Manage. Res. 29, 954–962.
waste-problem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ (accessed 01.08.2017). Kim, B., Lee, J., Seo, S., Park, Y., Sohn, H., 2004. A process for extracting precious
GreenSoft Technology Inc, 2016. Final China RoHS-2 regulation published. metals from spent printed circuit boards and automobile catalysts. J. Miner.
http://greensofttech.com/site/final-china-rohs-2-regulation-published/ Met. Mater. Soc. (TMS) 56, 55–58.
(accessed 01.04.2017). Kim, E.Y., Kim, M.S., Lee, J.C., Jeong, J., Pandey, B.D., 2011a. Leaching kinetics of
Guo, J., Guo, J., Xu, Z., 2009. Recycling of non-metallic fractions from waste printed copper from waste printed circuit boards by electro-generated chlorine in HCl
circuit boards: a review. J. Hazard. Mater. 168, 567–590. solution. Hydrometallurgy 107, 124–132.
Hadi, P., Ning, C., Ouyang, W., Xu, M., Lin, C.S.K., McKay, G., 2015. Toward Kim, E.-Y., Kim, M.-S., Lee, J.-C., Pandey, B.D., 2011b. Selective recovery of gold from
environmentally-benign utilization of nonmetallic fraction of waste printed waste mobile phone PCBs by hydrometallurgical process. J. Hazard. Mater. 198,
circuit boards as modifier and precursor. Waste Manage. 35, 236–246. 206–215.
Hagelüken, C., 2006. Recycling of electronic scrap at Umicore precious metals Kim, B.-S., Lee, J.-C., Jeong, J., Yang, D.-H., Shin, D., Lee, K.-I., 2013. A novel process for
refining. Proceedings of Waste – Secondary Raw Materials III, Acta Metall. extracting precious metals from spent mobile phone PCBs and automobile
Solvaca, Strbske Pleso, Slovakia. June 2006. catalysts. Mater. Trans. 54, 1045–1048.
Hagelüken, C., Corti, C.W., 2010. Recycling of gold from electronics: cost-effective Kumar, M., Lee, J.C., Kim, M.S., Jeong, J., Yoo, K., 2014. Leaching of metals from waste
use through ‘Design for Recycling’. Gold Bull. 43, 209–220. printed circuit boards (PCBs) using sulfuric and nitric acids. Environ. Eng.
Herat, S., 2008. Green electronics through legislation and lead free soldering. Clean- Manage. J. 13, 2601–2607.
Soil Air Water 36, 145–151. Kumar, K., Mehta, A., 2016. A review on e-waste management for smart city. SSRG-
Herat, S., Pariatamby, A., 2012. E-waste: a problem or an opportunity? Review of Int. J. Civil Eng. (SSRG-IJCE) 3, 132–135.
issues, challenges and solutions in Asian countries. Waste Manage. Res. 30, Kumar, A., Holuszkoa, M., Espinosa, D.C.R., 2017. E-waste: an overview on
1113–1129. generation, collection, legislation and recycling practices. Resour. Conserv.
Hoffmann, J.E., 1992. Recovering precious metals from electronic scrap. J. Miner. Recycl. 122, 32–42.
Met. Mater. Soc. (TMS) 44, 43–48. Kuper, J., Hojsik, M., 2008. Poisoning the poor electronic waste in Ghana.
Hotta, Y., Elder, M., Mori, H., Tanaka, M., 2008. Policy considerations for establishing Greenpeace International, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
an environmentally-sound regional material flow in East Asia. J. Environ. Devel. Kusch, S., Hills, C.D., 2017. The link between e-waste and GDP-New insights from
17, 26–50. data from the Pan-European region. Resources 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/
Huang, K., Guo, J., Xu, Z., 2009. Recycling of waste printed circuit boards: a review of resources6020015.
current technologies and treatment status in China. J. Hazard. Mater. 164, 399– Lambert, F., Gaydardzhiev, S., Leonard, G., Lewis, G., Bareel, P.-F., 2015. Copper
408. leaching from waste electric cables by biohydrometallurgy. Miner. Eng. 76, 38–
Huang, J., Chen, M., Chen, H., Chen, S., Sun, Q., 2014. Leaching behavior of copper 46.
from waste printed circuit boards with Bronsted acidic ionic liquid. Waste Law, R.J., Herzke, D., Harrad, S., Morris, S., Bersuder, P., Allchin, C.R., 2008. Levels and
Manage. 34, 483–488. trends of HBCD and BDEs in the European and Asian environments, with some
Huisman, J., Botezatu, I., Herreras, L., Liddane, M., Hintsa, J., Luda di Cortemiglia, V., information for other BFRs. Chemosphere 73, 223–241.
Leroy, P., Vermeersch, E., Mohanty, S., van den Brink, S., Ghenciu, B., Dimitrova, Lecler, M.-T., Zimmermann, F., Silvente, E., Masson, A., Morèle, Y., Remy, A., Chollot,
D., Nash, E., Shryane, T., Wieting, M., Kehoe, J., Baldé, C.P., Magalini, F., Zanasi, A., A., 2018. Improving the work environment in the fluorescent lamp recycling
Ruini, F., Männistö, T., and Bonzio, A., 2015. Countering WEEE illegal trade sector by optimizing mercury elimination. Waste Manage. 76, 250–260.
(CWIT) summary report, market assessment, legal analysis, crime analysis and Lee, J.-C., Song, H.T., Yoo, J.-M., 2007. Present status of the recycling of waste electrical
recommendations roadmap. August 30, 2015, Lyon, France. and electronic equipment in Korea. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 50, 380–397.
Huo, X., Peng, L., Xu, X., Zheng, L., Qiu, B., Qi, Z., Zhang, B., Han, D., Piao, Z., 2007. Leung, A.O.W., Luksemburg, W.J., Wong, A.S., Wong, M.H., 2007. Spatial distribution
Elevated blood lead levels of children in Guiyu, an electronic waste recycling of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and
town in China. Environ. Health Perspect. 115, 1113–1117. dibenzofurans in soil and combusted residue at Guiyu, an electronic waste
IETC, UN Environment, 2017. http://web.unep.org/ietc/ (accessed 01.04.2017). recycling site in southeast china. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 2730–2737.
Iji, M., Yokoyama, S., 1997. Recycling of printed wiring boards with mounted Leung, A.O.W., Duzgoren-Aydin, N.S., Cheung, K.C., Wong, M.H., 2008. Heavy metals
electronic components. Circuit World 23, 10–15. concentrations of surface dust from e-waste recycling and its human health
ILO, 1993. Safety in the use of chemicals at work: An ILO contribution to the implications in Southeast China. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42, 2674–2680.
international programme on chemical safety of UNEP, the ILO and the WHO Li, Y., Richardson, J., Walker, A., Yuan, P., 2006. TCLP heavy metal leaching of
(IPCS), ILO code of practice (Geneva). http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/ personal computer components. J. Environ. Eng. 132, 497–504.
public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—safework/documents/normativeinstrument/ Li, J., Lu, H., Guo, J., Xu, Z., Zhou, Y., 2007. Recycle technology for recovering
wcms_107823.pdf. resources and products from waste printed circuit boards. Environ. Sci. Technol.
ILO, 2012. The global impact of e-waste: Addressing the challenge. International 41, 1995–2000.
Labour Office (ILO), Geneva. Li, Y., Xu, X., Liu, J., Wu, K., Gu, C., Shao, G., Chen, S., Chen, G., Huo, X., 2008. The
Ilyas, S., Ruan, C., Bhatti, H.N., Ghauri, M.A., Anwar, M.A., 2010. Column bioleacing of hazard of chromium exposure to neonates in Guiyu of China. Sci. Total Environ.
metals from electronic scrap. Hydrometallurgy 101, 135–140. 403, 99–104.
274 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275

Li, Y., Richardson, J.B., Bricka, R.M., Niu, X., Yang, H., Li, L., Jimenez, A., 2009. Leaching recycling, e-waste (LED lamps) and nickel pig iron. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 20,
of heavy metals from E-waste in simulated landfill columns. Waste Manage. 29, 671–708.
2147–2150. Reuter, M.A., van Schaik, A., 2016. Chapter 53: gold – a key enabler of a circular
Liang, G., Mo, Y., Zhou, Q., 2010. Novel strategies of bioleaching metals from printed economy: recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment. In: Adams, M.D.
circuit boards (PCBs) in mixed cultivation of two acidophiles. Enzyme Microb. (Ed.), Gold Ore Processing. Elsevier, pp. 937–958.
Technol. 47, 322–326. Robinson, B., 2009. E-waste: an assessment of global production and environmental
Lu, C., Lin, Z., Zhong, Y., Ren, W., Tobias, M., Mu, Z., Ma, Z., Geng, Y., Xue, B., 2015. An impacts. Sci. Total Environ. 408, 183–191.
overview of e-waste management in China. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manage. 17, Rodrigues, M.L.M., Leao, V.A., Gomes, O., Lambert, F., Bastin, D., 2015. Copper
1–12. extraction from coarsely ground printed circuit boards using moderate
Lu, Y., Xu, Z., 2016. Precious metals recovery from waste printed circuit boards: a thermophilic bacteria in a rotating-drum reactor. Waste Manage. 41, 148–158.
review for current status and perspective. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 113, 28–39. Rucevska I., Nellemann C., Isarin N., Yang W., Liu N., Yu K., Sandnæs S., Olley K.,
Luda, M.P., 2011. Recycling of printed circuit boards. InTech, pp. 285–298. McCann H., Devia L., Bisschop L., Soesilo D., Schoolmeester T., Henriksen, R.,
Ludwig, C., Hellweg, S., Stucki, S., 2003. Municipal solid waste management: Nilsen, R. 2015. Waste crime – waste risks: Gaps in meeting the global waste
Strategies and technologies for sustainable solutions. Springer, Berlin, pp. 320– challenge. A UNEP Rapid Response Assessment, United Nations Environment
322. Programme and GRID-Arendal, Nairobi and Arendal, http://www.grida.no ISBN:
Luyima, A., Shi, h., Zhang, L., 2011. Leaching studies for metals recovery from waste 978-82-7701-148-6.
printed wiring boards. JOM 63, 38–40. Sarath, P., Bonda, S., Mohanty, S., Nayak, S.K., 2015. Mobile phone waste
Lydall, M., Nyanjowa, W., James, Y., 2017. Mapping South Africa’s waste electrical management and recycling: views and trends. Waste Manage. 46, 536–545.
and electronic equipment (WEEE) dismantling, pre-processing and processing Schmidt, C.W., 2006. Unfair trade e-waste in Africa. Environ. Health Perspect. 114,
technology landscape. Mintek External Report 7574, March 2017. A232–A235.
Ma, C., Yu, J., Wang, B., Song, Z., Xiang, J., Hu, S., Su, S., Sun, L., 2016. Chemical Schluep, M., Hageluken, C., Kuehr, R., Magalini, F., Maurer, C., Meskers, C., Mueller,
recycling of brominated flame retarded plastics from e-waste for clean fuels E., Wang, F., 2009. Recycling – from e-waste to resources, sustainable
production. A review. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 61, 433–450. innovation and technology transfer industrial sector studies. Report Prepared
Macauley, M., Palmer, K., Shih, J.S., 2003. Dealing with electronic waste: modelling by Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research. Umicore
the costs and environmental benefits of computer monitor disposal. J. Environ. Precious Metal Refining and the United Nations University.
Manage. 68, 13–22. Sepúlveda, A., Schluep, M., Renaud, F.G., Streicher, M., Kuehr, R., Hagelüken, C.,
Mark, F.E., Lehner, T., 2000. Plastics recovery from waste electrical and electronic Gerecke, A.C., 2010. A review of the environmental fate and effects of hazardous
equipment in non-ferrous metal processes. Association of Plastics substances released from electrical and electronic equipments during recycling:
Manufacturers in Europe, Brussels, Belgium. examples from China and India. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 30, 28–41.
Mecucci, A., Scott, K., 2002. Leaching and electrochemical recovery of copper, lead Shamim, A., Ali, Mursheda K., Rafiq, I., 2015. E-waste trading impact on public
and tin from scrap printed circuit boards. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 77, 449– health and ecosystem services in developing countries. Int. J. Waste Resour. 5,
457. 1–12.
MIIT, 2016. The measures for the administration of the restriction of the use of Sheng, P.P., Etsell, T.H., 2007. Recovery of gold from computer circuit board scrap
hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products. http://www. using aqua regia. Waste Manage. Res. 25, 380–383.
miit.gov.cn/newweb/n1146290/n4388791/c4609768/content.html (accessed Smith, T., Sonnenfeld, D.A., Naguib Pellow, D., 2006. Challenging the chip: Labor
01.04.2018). rights and environmental justice in the global electronics industry. Temple
Moltó, J., Egea, S., Conesa, J.A., Font, R., 2011. Thermal decomposition of electronic University Press, Philadelphia, PA.
wastes: mobile phones case and other parts. Waste Manage. 31, 2546–2552. Song, Q., Li, J., 2014. Environmental effects of heavy metals derived from the e-
Morris, A., Metternicht, G., 2016. Assessing effectiveness of WEEE management waste recycling activities in China: a systematic review. Waste Manage. 34,
policy in Australia. J. Environ. Manage. 181, 218–230. 2587–2594.
National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship (NSES), 2011. Interagency Task Force Song, Q., Li, Q., 2015. A review on human health consequences of metals exposure to
on Electronics Stewardship, July 2011. E-waste in China. Environ. Pollut. 196, 450–461.
Nelson, A., 2017. Warnings over children’s health as recycled e-waste comes back as Spalvins, E., Dubey, B., Townsend, T., 2008. Impact of electronic waste disposal on
plastic toys, The Guardian, 9 March 2017. lead concentrations in landfill leachate. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42, 7452–7458.
Nnorom, I.C., Osibanjo, O., 2008. Electronic waste (e-waste): material flows and StEP Green Paper (Solving the e-waste problem), 2015. E-waste prevention, take-
management practices in Nigeria. Waste Manage. 28, 1472–1479. back system design and policy approaches. ISSN: 2219-6579 (Online).
Ogunniyi, I.O., Vermaak, M.K.G., 2009a. Investigation of froth flotation for Step (Solving the e-waste problem) Annual Report, 2015/2016. http://www.step-
beneficiation of printed circuit board comminution fines. Miner. Eng. 22, 378– initiative.org/files/step-2014/Publications/Step_ARs/2015_16/Step_Annual_
385. Report_2015_16_ebook.html.
Ogunniyi, I.O., Vermaak, M.K.G., 2009b. Froth flotation for beneficiation of printed StEP (Solving the e-waste problem), 2018. http://www.step-initiative.org/
circuit boards comminution fines: an overview. Miner. Process. Extr. Metall. (accessed 01.04.2018).
Rev. 30, 101–121. Sthiannopkao, S., Wong, M.H., 2013. Handling e-waste in developed and developing
Oh, C.J., Lee, S.O., Yang, H.S., Ha, T.J., Kim, M.J., 2003. Selective leaching of valuable countries: initiatives, practices, and consequences. Sci. Total Environ. 463–464,
metals from waste printed circuit boards. J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc. 53, 897– 1147–1153.
902. Terazono, A., Murakami, S., Inanc, N.A.B., Moriguchi, Y., Sakai, S., Kojima, M.,
Ongondo, F.O., Williams, I.D., Cherrett, T.J., 2011. How are WEEE doing? A global Yoshida, A., Li, J., Yang, J., Wong, M.H., Jain, A., Kim, I.-S., Peralta, G.L., Lin, C.-C.,
review of the management of electrical and electronic wastes. Waste Manage. Mungcharoen, T., Williams, E., 2006. Current status and research on e-waste
31, 714–730. issues in Asia. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manage. 8, 1–12.
Osako, M., Kim, Y.-J., Sakai, S.-I., 2004. Leaching of brominated flame retardants in The Globe and Mail, 2017. Xstrata to boost e-scrap recycling capacity. https://www.
leachate from landfills in Japan. Chemosphere 57, 1571–1579. theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/xstrata-to-boost-e-scrap-recycling-
Osibanjo, O., Nnorom, I.C., 2007. The challenge of electronic waste (e-waste) capacity/article1050478/ (accessed 24.04.2018).
management in developing countries. Waste Manage. Res. 26, 489–501. The United Nations: Sustainable development goals, 2018. About the Sustainable
Pant, D., Joshi, D., Upreti, M.K., Kotnala, R.K., 2012. Chemical and biological Development Goals. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-
extraction of metals present in e-waste: a hybrid technology. Waste Manage. development-goals/ (accessed 27.09.2018).
32, 979–990. Tsydenova, O., Bengtsson, M., 2011. Chemical hazards associated with treatment of
Park, Y.J., Fray, D.J., 2009. Recovery of high purity precious metals from printed waste electrical and electronic equipment. Waste Manage. 31, 45–58.
circuit boards. J. Hazard. Mater. 164, 1152–1158. Tue, N.M., Takahashi, S., Subramanian, A., Sakai, S., Tanabe, S., 2013. Environmental
PCBCart, 2018. A comprehensive introduction of copper clad laminate. https:// contamination and human exposure to dioxin-related compounds in e-waste
www.pcbcart.com/article/content/copper-clad-laminate.html (accessed recycling sites of developing countries. Environ. Sci. Processes Impacts 15,
19.02.2018). 1326–1331.
Petter, P., Veit, H., Bernardes, A., 2015. Leaching of gold and silver from printed Tuncuk, A., Stazi, V., Akcil, A., Yazici, E.Y., Deveci, H., 2012. Aqueous metal recovery
circuit board of mobile phones. Rem. Revista Escola de Minas 68, 61–68. techniques from e-scrap: hydrometallurgy in recycling. Miner. Eng. 25, 28–37.
Pinto, N.V., 2008. E-waste hazard: the impending challenge. Ind. J. Occup. Environ. Umicore, 2017. Materials we treat. http://pmr.umicore.com/en/
Med. 12, 65–70. recyclables/electronic-scrap/materials-we-treat/ (accessed 15.04.2017).
Prakash, S., Manhart, A., 2010. Socio-economic assessment and feasibility study on UNCRD – 3R Initiative, 2017. http://www.uncrd.or.jp/index.php?menu=388
sustainable e-waste management in Ghana. Öko-Institut e.V., Freiburg. August (accessed 01.04.2017).
2010. UNEP, 2007a. E-waste volume I: Inventory assessment manual. United Nations
Priyadharshini, S., Meenambal, T., 2011. A survey on electronic waste management Environment Protection.
in Coimbatore. Int. J. Eng. Sci. Technol. 3, 2099–2104. UNEP, 2007b. E-waste volume II: E-waste management manual. United Nations
Quinet, P., Proost, J., Van Lierde, A., 2005. Recovery of precious metals from Environment Protection.
electronic scrap by hydrometallurgical routes. Miner. Metall. Process. 22, 17– US EPA, 2016a. Advancing sustainable materials management: 2014 fact sheet.
22. Assessing Trends in Material Generation, Recycling, Composting, Combustion
Reuter, M.A., 2013. Letter to the editor. Miner. Eng. 40, 81. with Energy Recovery and Landfilling in the United States, November 2016.
Reuter, M.A., van Schaik, A., 2015. Simulation-based design for resource efficiency US EPA, 2016b. Electronic products generation and recycling in the United States,
of metal production and recycling systems: cases – copper production & 2013, 2014. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-
 I.M.S.K. Ilankoon et al. / Waste Management 82 (2018) 258–275 275

12/documents/electronic_products_generation_and_recycling_2013_2014_ Wong, C.S.C., Duzgoren-Aydin, N.S., Aydin, A., Wong, M.H., 2007b. Evidence of
11282016_508.pdf. excessive releases of metals from primitive e-waste processing in Guiyu, China.
USA Interagency Task Force on Electronics Stewardship, 2014. Moving Sustainable Environ. Pollut. 148, 62–72.
Electronics Forward: An Update to the National Strategy for Electronics Wu, J.P., Luo, X.J., Zhang, Y., Luo, Y., Chen, S.J., Mai, B.X., Yang, Z.Y., 2008.
Stewardship, August 2014. Bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and
Vanegas, P., Peeters, J.R., Plessers, F., Cattrysse, D., Duflou, J.R., 2014. Synergizing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in wild aquatic species from an electronic
industrialized and developing countries to improve resource recovery for e- waste (e-waste) recycling site in South China. Environ. Int. 34, 1109–1113.
waste: case study Belgium-Kenya. Procedia CIRP 15, 283–288. Yazici, E.Y., Deveci, H., 2013. Extraction of metals from waste printed circuit boards
Veit, H.M., Juchneski, N.C.F., Scherer, J., 2014. Use of gravity separation in metals (WPCBs) in H2SO4-CuSO4-NaCl solutions. Hydrometallurgy 139, 30–38.
concentration from printed circuit boards scraps. REM: Revista Escola de Minas Yoo, J., Jeong, J., Yoo, K., Lee, J.-C., Kim, W., 2009. Enrichment of the metallic
67, 73–79. components from waste printed circuit boards by a mechanical separation
Wang, R., Xu, Z., 2014. Recycling of non-metallic fractions from waste electrical and process using a stamp mill. Waste Manage. 29, 1132–1137.
electronic equipment (WEEE): a review. Waste Manage. 34, 1455–1469. Yu, J., Williams, E., Ju, M., Shao, C., 2010. Managing e-waste in China: policies, pilot
Wen, S., Yang, F.X., Gong, Y., Zhang, X.L., Hui, Y., Li, J.G., Liu, A.L., Wu, Y.N., Lu, W.Q., projects and alternative approaches. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 54, 991–999.
Xu, Y., 2008. Elevated levels of urinary 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine in male Yu, L., He, W., Li, G., Huang, J., Zhu, H., 2014. The development of WEEE management
electrical and electronic equipment dismantling workers exposed to high and effects of the fund policy for subsidizing WEEE treating in China. Waste
concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins and dibenzofurans, Manage. 34, 1705–1714.
polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Environ. Sci. Zhang, Y., Liu, S., Xie, H., Zeng, X., Li, J., 2012. Current status on leaching precious
Technol. 42, 4202–4207. metals from waste printed circuit boards. Procedia Environ. Sci. 16, 560–568.
Wheeland, M., 2010. E-waste becomes a top priority for EPA action. https:// Zhang, S., Ding, Y., Liu, B., Chang, C.-C., 2017. Supply and demand of some critical metals
www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/08/17/e-waste-becomes-top-priority-epa- and present status of their recycling in WEEE. Waste Manage. 65, 113–127.
action (accessed 01.04.2017). Zheng, L., Wu, K., Li, Y., Qi, Z., Han, D., Zhang, B., Gu, C., Chen, G., Liu, J., Chen, S., Xu,
Widmer, R., Oswald-Krapf, H., Sinha-Khetriwal, D., Schnellmann, M., Böni, H., 2005. X., Huo, X., 2008. Blood lead and cadmium levels and relevant factors among
Global perspectives on e-waste. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 25, 436–458. children from an e-waste recycling town in China. Environ. Res. 108, 15–20.
Wong, C.S.C., Wu, S.C., Duzgoren-Aydin, N.S., Wong, M.H., 2007a. Trace metal Zou, M.Y., Ran, Y., Gong, J., Mai, B.X., Zeng, E.Y., 2007. Polybrominated diphenyl
contamination of sediments in e-waste processing village in China. Environ. ethers in watershed soils of the Pearl River Delta, China: occurrence, inventory,
Pollut. 145, 434–442. and fate. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 8262–8267.