Environmental and Health Consequences of E-waste Dumping and Recycling Carried out by Selected Countries in Asia and Latin America

The volume of e-waste generated worldwide is surging and it is set to escalate further due to continuing technological innovation and early obsolescence of most electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Even though there are many studies conducted on e-waste management, the environmental and health consequences from e-waste regarding direct exposures during informal recycling and indirect exposures through environmental contamination are poorly studied. This study analyzes the environmental and health consequences of e-waste dumping and informal recycling practices in selected countries such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico and Pakistan. Several databases such as Science Direct, ProQuest, Web of Science and Emerald are used to analyze pre-vious studies from 2005 to 2022. Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, 179 journal articles were evaluated. The study found that the majority of e-waste is poorly managed in an ecologically safe and sound manner. The study also found that illegal dumping, acid leaching and open burning are still being performed by the selected countries which cause harm to the environment and the well-being of e-waste workers. This study has provided several practical suggestions for addressing the environmental and health consequences as a result of e-waste dumping and recycling.