Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and. other. wastes. (Secretariat. of. the. Basel. Convention-United. Nations.
Environment. Programme. 1992).. This. can. be. done. by. sharing. technologi-
cal. knowledge. and. continuously. improving. and. harmonizing. technical.
standards. and. codes. of. practices. and. technologies. for. safe,. eficient,. and.
effective.management.of.e-waste..Parties.should.also.cooperate.in.monitor-
ing. the. effects. of. the. management. of. hazardous. wastes. on. human. health.
and.the.environment.and.develop.and.employ.appropriate.means.to.assist.
developing.countries.in.building.capacity.(technical.or.otherwise).for.han-
dling.e-waste.
A. fundamental. component. of. successful. e-waste. management. is. full.
support. from. the. government. in. terms. of. legislating. extended. producer.
responsibility,. which. requires. manufacturers. of. EEE. to. establish. a. take-
back. system. that. incorporates. a. circular. economy. with. minimum. risks. to.
the. environment. and. human. health,. and. subsidizing. e-waste. reuse. and.
recycling. programmes.. Sophisticated. centralized. recycling. centers. should.
be.built.to.process.regional.WEEE..A.national.recycling.levy,.such.as.that.
implemented. in. Japan,. could. be. introduced,. whereby. all. manufacturers,.
sellers,.and.consumers.pay.a.recycling.tax.that.will.help.inance.the.recy-
cling. of. EEE.. In. many. countries,. WEEE. regulations. are. either. nonexistent.
or.the.initiation,.drafting,.and.adoption.of.these.regulations.have.been.slow.
(Ongondo.et.al..2011).
Furthermore,.it.is.important.to.launch.environmental.education.and.eth-
ics. programs,. epidemiological. studies,. environmental. monitoring. and. risk.
assessment,. remediation. of. contaminated. sites,. mathematical. modeling. to.
predict.likely.effects,.and.auditing.to.check.whether.all.regulations.are.fully.
implemented.and.enforced..It.seems.necessary.to.conduct.a.cost-beneit.anal-
ysis. to. provide. information. on. the. cost. of. hospitalization. of. workers. and.
local.residents.due.to.adverse.health.impacts.arising.from.e-waste.recycling.
and. for. remediation.of. the. contaminated. environment.at. the. e-waste.recy-
cling.sites.
The. long-term. health. consequences. of. primitive. and. crude. recycling.
processes.on.the.workers.and.their.children.are.still.largely.unknown..The.
poor.do.not.have.the.freedom.of.choice,.especially.because.the.“not.in.my.
backyard”.mentality.of.the.developed.countries.have.made.“recycling”.of.
digital.dumps.in.the.backyards.of.the.poor.their.sole.means.of.survival.
Acknowledgments
The. authors. thank. all. the. team. members. who. took. part. in. the. e-waste.
project..Financial.support.from.the.Special.Equipment.Grant.(SEG.HKBU09),.
Group. Research. (HKBU/1-03C). of. the. Research. Grants. Council. of. Hong.
Kong,. and. the. Area. of. Excellence. Fund. (Hong. Kong. Baptist. University). is.
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