Key Facts
E-waste is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing solid waste streams globally. In 2022 alone, an estimated 62 million tonnes of e-waste were produced worldwide, yet only 22.3% of this was formally collected and recycled. This staggering statistic highlights a significant gap in our waste management systems. When e-waste is improperly recycled, stored, or dumped—often through informal activities such as open burning—harmful substances like lead are released into the environment. The health implications of these practices are particularly dire, with children and pregnant women being especially vulnerable. According to estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), millions of women and child laborers working in the informal recycling sector are at risk of hazardous e-waste exposures.
Overview
Every year, millions of electrical and electronic devices reach the end of their life cycle, whether due to malfunction or obsolescence. These discarded items, categorized as e-waste, pose significant threats to both human health and the environment if not disposed of and recycled correctly. Common items found in e-waste streams include computers, mobile phones, large household appliances, and medical equipment. Unfortunately, many of these devices are recycled through unsound practices, stored in homes and warehouses, dumped, or illegally exported.
When e-waste is recycled improperly, it can release up to 1,000 different chemical substances into the environment, including neurotoxicants like lead. The risks are particularly acute for vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women, who may be exposed to these hazardous substances through various pathways. In 2020, the ILO estimated that 16.5 million children were working in the industrial sector, with waste processing being a significant subsector.
Scope of the Problem
Electronic waste is not just a growing concern; it represents a critical challenge for public health and environmental safety. In 2022, less than a quarter of the e-waste produced globally was formally recycled. This is alarming, considering that e-waste contains valuable and finite resources that can be reused if recycled appropriately. For many individuals and communities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), e-waste has become an important income stream. However, the lack of appropriate regulations, enforcement, and recycling infrastructure in these regions exposes children and other vulnerable populations to significant risks.
Despite international regulations aimed at controlling the transport of e-waste, illegal transboundary movement to LMICs continues. E-waste is classified as hazardous waste due to its toxic materials, which can produce harmful chemicals when recycled improperly. Many of these toxic substances are known or suspected to cause serious health issues, including dioxins, lead, and mercury. The inferior recycling of e-waste poses a considerable threat to public health and safety.
Exposure to E-Waste
Electrical and electronic devices contain numerous toxic substances, which users typically do not encounter while the items are functional. However, once these devices become waste, toxicants can be released into the environment if managed through environmentally unsound practices. Common hazardous activities observed at e-waste sites include:
- Scavenging
- Dumping on land or in water bodies
- Landfilling alongside regular waste
- Open burning or heating
- Acid baths or acid leaching
- Stripping and shredding plastic coatings
- Manual disassembly of equipment
These practices are detrimental to both the environment and public health, as they release toxic pollutants that contaminate air, soil, dust, and water in and around recycling sites. Open burning and heating are particularly hazardous due to the toxic fumes they generate. Once released, these pollutants can travel significant distances, exposing communities far from the original point of pollution.
Children Are the Most Vulnerable
Epidemiological research has linked several adverse health outcomes to informal and unsound e-waste recycling activities. Children and pregnant women are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of hazardous pollutants released during these activities. Many children are involved in waste picking, scavenging, burning discarded e-waste, and manually dismantling items into component parts. In some regions, children are exploited as a source of cheap labor, with their small hands making them adept at disassembling small devices.
Working as a waste picker is considered hazardous labor and is classified as one of the worst forms of child labor by the ILO. In 2020, the ILO estimated that around 16.5 million children were working in the industrial sector, with waste processing being a significant subsector. The extent of child labor in informal e-waste recycling remains largely unknown.
Exposure to e-waste can lead to various health issues during pregnancy and in infants and children, including:
- Adverse neonatal outcomes, such as increased rates of stillbirth and premature birth
- Neurodevelopmental, learning, and behavioral issues, particularly associated with lead exposure
- Reduced lung and respiratory function, along with increased asthma incidence, linked to high levels of contaminated air pollution at e-waste recycling sites
Children and pregnant women face heightened risks from hazardous substances released during informal e-waste recycling due to their unique vulnerabilities. For instance, toxic chemicals can cross the placenta and contaminate breast milk, exposing fetuses and young children to harmful pollutants. The developing bodies of children are particularly sensitive to many of these toxicants, which can disrupt the development of their respiratory, immune, and central nervous systems. The long-term effects of exposure to neurotoxicants like lead and mercury can result in irreversible harm, affecting children for the rest of their lives.
Prevention and Management
To protect communities from the dangers of unsound e-waste recycling activities, both national and international actions are essential. Some measures that can be taken include:
- Adopting and enforcing high-level international agreements
- Developing and implementing national e-waste management legislation that safeguards public health
- Incorporating health protection measures into national legislation
- Monitoring e-waste sites and surrounding communities
- Implementing and monitoring interventions that improve informal e-waste recycling practices while protecting public health and ensuring vital sources of community revenue
- Educating health workers at all levels about e-waste-related child health issues
- Eliminating child labor
International Agreements
The Basel Convention is a comprehensive environmental agreement that controls the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, including e-waste. In 2019, the Ban Amendment to the Basel Convention came into effect, prohibiting the movement of hazardous wastes from countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Commission countries, and Liechtenstein to other states that are party to the Convention. The Basel Convention also runs programs and workshops to develop guidance on the environmentally sound management of e-waste and provides states with guidelines to distinguish between waste and non-waste.
Regional conventions, such as the Bamako Convention and the Waigani Convention, have emerged in response to the Basel Convention. These regional agreements aim to further restrict the movement of hazardous wastes, including e-waste, in African and South Pacific countries, respectively.
WHO Response
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Initiative on E-waste and Child Health is actively contributing to various international e-waste programs and pilot projects in countries across Latin America and Africa. These initiatives aim to develop frameworks that protect children’s health from e-waste exposures, which can be adapted and replicated in other countries and settings. The Initiative’s goals include:
- Increasing access to evidence, knowledge, and awareness of the health effects of e-waste
- Improving health sector capacity to manage and prevent risks
- Facilitating monitoring and evaluation of e-waste exposures and interventions that protect health
In 2021, WHO released its first global report on e-waste and child health, calling for more effective and binding actions to safeguard children from this growing threat. WHO has also developed training tools for the health sector, including a training package for healthcare providers, which features a specific module on e-waste and child health. Additionally, WHO collaborates on multi-agency capacity training tools, including a MOOC, a joint course with PAHO, and the UNICEF-WHO Introduction to Children’s Environmental Health.