Circular Economy Task Force, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117576, Singapore.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 May;27(13):14412-14431. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-07992-1. Epub 2020 Mar 11.
The improper disposal and informal processing of e-waste have raised serious concerns for the environment and human health worldwide. A variety of legislative frameworks have been implemented to regulate e-waste management and upcycling in order to prevent environmental pollution and adopt resource reuse. Current e-waste legislation in different countries mostly include restrictions on e-waste import/export, regulations for recycling specific categories of e-waste, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This article serves as a comprehensive commentary to weigh the advantages and drawbacks of the different e-waste legislation enforced around the world. Though each country's e-waste legislation is enframed to address the country-specific problems, the legislation is mostly not holistic, leading to different management issues. A variety of e-waste management issues prevalent in most countries (with e-waste specific legislation) have been listed and categorized for better understanding of the status quo. Further, the article proposes a generic e-waste management model catering to requirements of countries around the world. The implementation of such a model for Europe, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia has been illustrated to show that the model can suit both developed and developing countries with contrasting e-waste management issues. The challenges that would arise in implementing an effective legislation and mechanisms for overcoming these challenges have also been discussed. To conclude, the role of governing bodies in tackling the future e-waste problems has been highlighted. In total, the article promotes scaling up the feasibility and efficacy of the implementation of e-waste policies across the globe in the coming years.
电子废物的不当处理和非正式处理引起了全世界对环境和人类健康的严重关注。为了防止环境污染和采用资源再利用，已经实施了各种立法框架来规范电子废物管理和升级改造。目前，不同国家的电子废物立法大多包括对电子废物进出口的限制、对特定类别的电子废物回收的规定以及生产者延伸责任（EPR）。本文旨在全面评价全球范围内实施的不同电子废物立法的优缺点。尽管各国的电子废物立法都是为了解决本国的具体问题而制定的，但这些立法大多不够全面，导致出现了不同的管理问题。本文列出并分类了大多数国家（有电子废物专门立法）普遍存在的各种电子废物管理问题，以便更好地了解现状。此外，本文还提出了一个通用的电子废物管理模型，以满足世界各国的要求。本文还说明了该模型在欧洲、中国、印度、日本、韩国、中国台湾和澳大利亚的实施情况，表明该模型既适用于具有不同电子废物管理问题的发达国家，也适用于发展中国家。本文还讨论了实施有效立法和克服这些挑战的机制所面临的挑战。总之，本文强调了管理机构在解决未来电子废物问题方面的作用。总的来说，本文提倡在未来几年内提高全球范围内实施电子废物政策的可行性和有效性。
