Current Practices of Management/Handling of E-waste : A Review

Abstract

Growth in the information technology and communication sectors, exponential use of the electronic equipment and faster up-gradation of electronic products have forced consumers to discard old electronic products as electronic waste (e-waste). Present review focuses on widely used methods for management/handling of e-waste with respect to disposal to landfill, incineration (pyrolysis), reuse/repair and recycling (dismantling, processing and end-processing) along with sustainable technologies used to reduce e-waste. It is recommended to integrate the informal sector with the formal sector in order to separately collect, effectively treat, dispose of e-waste along with divert it from conventional landfills and open burning. To reduce, reuse, refurbish, recovery and recycle are the current solution to minimize the e-waste.