Decadal Journey of E-Waste Recycling: What Has It Achieved?

Abstract

E-waste recycling has been a hot topic around the world. This Feature revisits the issues raised by our previous Feature 10 years ago, i.e., the environmental, economic, and social benefits of e-waste recycling, using China as an example. The decadal journey of e-waste recycling has witnessed a giant leap from haphazard disposal initially to regulated disassembly presently. Specific successful stories include cleaned environment and reduced human exposure, significant advantages of urban mining over mineral mining, additional employment opportunities, and improved legislation system related to e-waste recycling. Strict legislation systems related to e-waste management based on the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility are key to the sustainable development of the e-waste recycling sector in China. The experiences and lessons learned in China would provide valuable guidelines for other developing countries.

Construction of Models To Predict the Effectiveness of E-Waste Control through Capture of Volatile Organic Compounds and Metals/Metalloids Exposure Fingerprints: A Six-Year Longitudinal Study

“…Pollution profiles of VOCs emitted during e-waste recycling vary significantly with the disassembly products, disassembly methods, and VOCs elimination techniques, − whereas these influencing factors have changed significantly over the past six years. First, China has gradually switched from recycling imported e-waste to recycling domestic e-waste after enacting the Implementation Plan on Banning Imports of Foreign Garbage and Advancing the Reform of the Solid Waste Import Administration System in 2017, which led to variations in categories of e-waste being recycled. Second, the strict management of e-waste recycling implemented in Guiyu accelerated the closure of primitive disposal workshops and stimulated the formation of formal disposal enterprises .…”

“…However, the approaches for evaluating the governance of e-waste control based on population exposure are yet to be investigated. The regulations and policies on e-waste have been gradually tightened in China within the past decade, 4,5 contributing to the rapid development of an organized e-waste recycling industry. Guiyu, a well-known illegal ER in China, has gradually closed the scattered disposal workshops and established a centralized industrial park since 2015.…”

“…However, regulatory advances are slow with weak enforcement in many countries and regions, and only 17.4% of the global e-waste was formally recycled in 2019 . Furthermore, the levels of many e-waste toxicants in the partially regulated e-waste recycling sites (ER) remain higher than those in the reference areas despite the standardized and centralized recycling activities. , To prevent the health implications of e-waste toxicants, governments require methods that can assess the governance of e-waste control and thus tailor corresponding regulation measures in time. Continuous monitoring of the variations in pollutant exposure risk to populations is optimal to reflect the effectiveness of environmental governance and population health protection.…”

Profile, Tissue Distribution, and Time Trend of Bisphenol Plastic Additives in Freshwater Wildlife of the Pearl River Ecosystem, China

“…Located on the south edge of the subtropical zone and the third largest river in China, the Pearl River constitutes the main stream of Zhujiang and three major tributaries, which are Dongjiang, Xijiang, and Beijiang, that run through and collect surface runoff before merging into the Pearl River estuary, as described previously (Peng et al, 2021;Sun et al, 2022). The Pearl River delta is one of the most developed and densely populated areas in China.…”

Large Virtual Transboundary Hazardous Waste Flows: The Case of China

“…The annual growth rate of hazardous waste generation in China is even 4 percent higher than that of its economy (measured by gross domestic product, GDP). , Meanwhile, China was the leading importer of global waste as well. , A decade ago, up to 70% of the world’s e-waste ended up in China, exacerbating challenges of hazardous waste management in China. In this context, in 2017, the Chinese government enacted an unprecedented ban (i.e., Prohibiting the Imports of Foreign Garbage: the Reform Plan on Solid Waste Import Management , herein referred to as “ the Chinese import ban ”), restricting the import of many types of waste from other countries. ,, Furthermore, in response to interprovincial physical transfers, China has implemented stricter policies to monitor the cradle-to-grave process of hazardous waste . Under the policy, hazardous waste producers are expected to minimize waste at the source. , However, expanding and increasingly complex trade networks offer another option.…”