Assessing data in the informal e-waste sector: The Agbogbloshie Scrapyard

Airborne antibiotic and metal resistance genes - A neglected potential risk at e-waste recycling facilities

Heavy metal-rich environments can promote the selection of metal-resistance genes (MRGs) in bacteria, often leading to the simultaneous selection of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) through a process known as co-selection. To comprehensively evaluate the biological pollutants at electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling facilities, air, soil, and river samples were collected at four distinct Swiss e-waste recycling facilities and analyzed for ARGs, MRGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), endotoxins, and bacterial species, with correlations drawn to heavy metal occurrence. To our knowledge, the present work marks the first attempt to quantify these bio-pollutants in the air of e-waste recycling facilities, that might pose a significant health risk to workers. Although ARG and MRG's profiles varied among the different sample types, intl1 consistently exhibited high relative abundance rates, identifying it as the predominant MGE across all sample types and facilities. These findings underscore its pivol role in driving diverse bacterial adaptations to extreme heavy metal exposure by selection and dissemination of ARGs and MRGs. All air samples exhibited consistent profiles of ARGs and MRGs, with blaTEM emerging as the predominant ARG, alongside pbrT and nccA as the most prevalent MRGs. However, one facility, engaged in batteries recycling and characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of heavy metals, showcased a more diverse resistance gene profile, suggesting that bacteria in this environment required more complex resistance mechanisms to cope with extreme metal exposure. Furthermore, this study unveiled a strong association between gram-negative bacteria and ARGs and less with MRGs. Overall, this research emphasizes the critical importance of studying biological pollutants in the air of e-waste recycling facilities to inform robust safety measures and mitigate the risk of resistance gene dissemination among workers. These findings establish a solid foundation for further investigations into the complex interplay among heavy metal exposure, bacterial adaptation, and resistance patterns in such distinctive ecosystems.

Driving sustainable circular economy in electronics: A comprehensive review on environmental life cycle assessment of e-waste recycling

E-waste, encompassing discarded materials from outdated electronic equipment, often ends up intermixed with municipal solid waste, leading to improper disposal through burial and incineration. This improper handling releases hazardous substances into water, soil, and air, posing significant risks to ecosystems and human health, ultimately entering the food chain and water supply. Formal e-waste recycling, guided by circular economy models and zero-discharge principles, offers potential solutions to this critical challenge. However, implementing a circular economy for e-waste management due to chemical and energy consumption may cause environmental impacts. Consequently, advanced sustainability assessment tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), have been applied to investigate e-waste management strategies. While LCA is a standardized methodology, researchers have employed various routes for environmental assessment of different e-waste management methods. However, to the authors' knowledge, there lacks a comprehensive study focusing on LCA studies to discern the opportunities and limitations of this method in formal e-waste management strategies. Hence, this review aims to survey the existing literature on the LCA of e-waste management under a circular economy, shedding light on the current state of research, identifying research gaps, and proposing future research directions. It first explains various methods of managing e-waste in the circular economy. This review then evaluates and scrutinizes the LCA approach in implementing the circular bioeconomy for e-waste management. Finally, it proposes frameworks and procedures to enhance the applicability of the LCA method to future e-waste management research. The literature on the LCA of e-waste management reveals a wide variation in implementing LCA in formal e-waste management, resulting in diverse results and findings in this field. This paper underscores that LCA can pinpoint the environmental hotspots for various pathways of formal e-waste recycling, particularly focusing on metals. It can help address these concerns and achieve greater sustainability in e-waste recycling, especially in pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical pathways. The recovery of high-value metals is more environmentally justified compared to other metals. However, biometallurgical pathways remain limited in terms of environmental studies. Despite the potential for recycling e-waste into plastic or glass, there is a dearth of robust background in LCA studies within this sector. This review concludes that LCA can offer valuable insights for decision-making and policy processes on e-waste management, promoting environmentally sound e-waste recycling practices. However, the accuracy of LCA results in e-waste recycling, owing to data requirements, subjectivity, impact category weighting, and other factors, remains debatable, emphasizing the need for more uncertainty analysis in this field.

A review of heavy metal risks around e-waste sites and comparable municipal dumpsites in major African cities: Recommendations and future perspectives

In Africa, the effects of informal e-waste recycling on the environment are escalating. It is regularly transported from developed to developing nations, where it is disassembled informally in search of precious metals, thus increasing human exposure to harmful compounds. Africa has a serious problem with e-waste, as there are significant facilities in Ghana and Nigeria where imported e-waste is unsafely dismantled. however, because they are in high demand and less expensive than new ones, old electronic and electrical items are imported in large quantities, just like in many developing nations. After that, these objects are frequently scavenged to recover important metals through heating, burning, incubation in acids, and other techniques. Serious health hazards are associated with these activities for workers and individuals close to recycling plants. At e-waste sites in Africa, there have been documented instances of elevated concentrations of hazardous elements, persistent organic pollutants, and heavy metals in dust, soils, and vegetation, including plants consumed as food. Individuals who handle and dispose of e-waste are exposed to highly hazardous chemical substances. This paper examines heavy metal risks around e-waste sites and comparable municipal dumpsites in major African cities. Elevated concentrations of these heavy metals metal in downstream aquatic and marine habitats have resulted in additional environmental impacts. These effects have been associated with unfavourable outcomes in marine ecosystems, such as reduced fish stocks characterized by smaller sizes, increased susceptibility to illness, and decreased population densities. The evidence from the examined studies shows how much e-waste affects human health and the environment in Africa. Sub-Saharan African nations require a regulatory framework that includes specialized laws, facilities, and procedures for the safe recycling and disposal of e-waste.

Environmental Injustice and Electronic Waste in Ghana: Challenges and Recommendations

Electronic waste (e-waste) or discarded electronic devices that are unwanted, not working, or have reached their end of life pose significant threats to human and environmental health. This is a major concern in Africa, where the majority of e-waste is discarded. In the year 2021, an estimated 57.4 million metric tons of e-waste were generated worldwide. Globally, COVID-19 lockdowns have contributed to increased e-waste generation. Although Africa generates the least of this waste, the continent has been the dumping ground for e-waste from the developed world. The flow of hazardous waste from the prosperous 'Global North' to the impoverished 'Global South' is termed "toxic colonialism". Agbogbloshie, Ghana, an e-waste hub where about 39% of e-waste was treated, was listed among the top 10 most polluted places in the world. The discard of e-waste in Ghana presents an issue of environmental injustice, defined as the disproportionate exposure of communities of color and low-income communities to pollution, its associated health and environmental effects, and the unequal environmental protection provided through policies. Despite the economic benefits of e-waste, many civilians (low-income earners, settlers, children, and people with minimal education) are exposed to negative health effects due to poverty, lack of education, and weak regulations. We critically examine the existing literature to gather empirical information on e-waste and environmental injustice. Comprehensive policies and regulations are needed to manage e-waste locally and globally.

Investigating recycling decisions of internet recyclers: A step towards zero waste economy

Online recycling has been recognized as an efficient method for waste recycling. This paper focuses on the information asymmetry between an internet recycler and consumers in the online transaction of used products. This paper is to find an optimal strategy for the internet recycler when the consumers would make an adverse selection in submitting the classification results (the used products would be classified into two kinds according to the quality: High quality and Low quality) of used products in online orders to avoid the loss because of internet recycler's moral hazard, which might bring the extra cost for internet recycler. Therefore, this study used game theory to establish a Stackelberg game model for analyzing an internet recycler and consumers' decision-making in the online transaction of used products. Based on the analysis of consumers' behaviors in an online transaction, internet recycler's strategies are divided into two kinds: A, high moral hazard strategy, and B, low moral hazard strategy. It is found that the strategy of low moral hazard is optimal for the internet recycler compared to the strategy of high moral hazard. Further, though strategy B is optimal, the internet recyclers is suggested to increase their moral hazard probability when the H used products are increasing (High-quality ones). Besides, for strategy B, the correction cost for wrong H orders and correction benefit from correction of wrong L orders would decrease the optimal moral hazard probability, and the impact of the correction benefit from correction of wrong L orders on the decision of moral hazard probability is more obvious.

Accumulation of heavy metals and human health risk assessment of vegetable consumption from a farm within the Korle lagoon catchment

The Korle lagoon is known to have high concentration of heavy metals. The use of land for agriculture and water for irrigation within the Korle Lagoon's catchment constitutes a potential health risk. Due to this, the study assessed the concentration of heavy metals in some vegetables (Amaranth, Spinach, Eggplant, Lettuce, Cauliflower, and Onion) and their corresponding soil from a farm within the Korle Lagoon's catchment. The estimated daily intake (EDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) was used to assess their health risks. Among the vegetables tested, heavy metals in lettuce exceeded their recommended guideline level. Additionally, the concentrations of Fe (265.94-3599.60 mg/kg) and Zn (76.77-294.70 mg/kg) in all vegetables were above the recommended guideline level. Also, Zn (227.30-534.57 mg/kg) and Pb (101.53-407.58 mg/kg), in soil were above the recommended guideline level for soil. The results also showed not only the severity of heavy metal pollution of soil in the study area, but also risks that were deemed carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic to both adults and children as a result of consumption of vegetables from the study area. The hazard index for adults (0.46-41.156) and children (3.880-384.122), were high for all vegetables tested and are associated with cancer risk due to high Cr and Pb levels. The risk assessment showed that children may suffer more carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health risk than adults. The study concluded that vegetables grown within the Korle lagoon's catchment is not suitable for consumption due to the associated adverse health effect.

Electronic waste control and management in Ghana: A critical assessment of the law, perceptions and practices

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of Ghana's hazardous and e-waste control and management Act 917 of 2016 on current e-waste management practices and the level of awareness among key stakeholders (general public, repairers, wholesalers/retailers, recyclers and importers of electronic items) in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and examined in this study. Results showed a low level (12%) of awareness among stakeholders on the e-waste legislation. Almost 13% of respondents had been educated on e-waste management. Community engagement and the mass media were the main sources of information on e-waste. Significant associations between background information of respondents and awareness level on 'Ghana's Act 917' were observed. Relative to general e-waste issues, only education and stakeholder showed significant associations with e-waste legislation and management. The main e-waste disposal methods adopted by respondents were disposal at dumpsites (22.7%), repair and reuse (21.1%) and reselling (20.1%). Almost 10% of respondents made changes to their e-waste disposal practices over the past 5 years. These changes were mainly due to the economic benefits derived from reselling e-waste (37.6%) and the perceived adverse impacts of e-waste on the environment (23.9%). Overall, there is the need to intensify awareness on 'Ghana's Act 917', especially issues regarding sustainable e-waste management practices.