When e-waste becomes a problem
This posts marks the beginning of the “Implications” chapter, where we’ll focus on the consequences of e-waste pollution and how it can affect the world we live in in various ways.
After the previous “Origins” chapter, you might be wondering—what’s so awful about e-waste, anyway?
E-waste tends to contain harmful substances, such as organic pollutants (e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)). They usually also contain amounts of heavy metals like lead, zinc, copper and cadmium (Liu et al., 2015). The hazardous substances found in e-waste can potentially end up being released into the environment, especially if the e-waste is recycled or disposed of improperly.
As mentioned in previous weeks, e-waste is generally exported from developed to developing countries. A whopping 82.6% of global e-waste is recycled informally in unorganised sectors (Rautela et al., 2021), which magnifies the pollution risks from the toxic chemicals.
Routes of pollutants into the environment due to informal e-waste disposal and recycling practices (Rautela et al., 2021).
The toxic substances in e-waste can find its way into the environment via various pathways illustrated in the diagram above. Pollutive impacts include the contamination of:
- soil (through the leaching of toxic elements and effluent discharge)
- air (open burning of circuit boards, emission of toxic fumes and suspended particulate matter), and
- water (acidic effluent discharge, washing of circuit boards, disposing the waste residue into the nearby drainage systems) (Rautela et al., 2021).
These subsequently create a ripple effect, disrupting the ecological balance of the environment around us. For instance, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found to have migrated into the environment in Longtang Town, Guangdong Province, China, which is home to one of China’s largest e-waste recycling sites (Wang et al., 2012). Higher levels of PAHs were discovered in the soil and vegetation near the dumpsites, as compared to elsewhere. These then entered the food chain through vegetables, prompting Wang et al. (2012) to advise against vegetable cultivation near the e-waste recycling sites.
The contamination of soil and vegetation is merely the tip of the iceberg—one of the most basic and direct impacts that e-waste pollution can have on the environment. Next time, we’ll discuss more about the air and water pollutive potential of e-waste disposal. See you then!
References
Liu, J., He, X., Lin, X., Chen, W., Zhou, Q., Shu, W., & Huang, L. (2015). Ecological effects of combined pollution associated with E‑Waste recycling on the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities. Environmental Science & Technology, 49(11), 6438-6447. https://doi.org/10.1021/es5049804.
Rautela, R., Arya, S., Vishwakarma, S., Lee, J., Kim, K., & Kumar, S. (2021). E-waste management and its effects on the environment and human health. The Science of the Total Environment, 773, 145623-145623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145623.
Wang, Y., Tian, Z., Zhu, H., Cheng, Z., Kang, M., Luo, C., Li, J., & Zhang, G. (2012). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils and vegetation near an e-waste recycling site in South China: Concentration, distribution, source, and risk assessment. The Science of the Total Environment, 439, 187-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.08.018.