E-Waste Generation and their Impacts on Health and Environment: A Study Over Gazipur District, Bangladesh

Abstract

The electrical and electronics industry is one of the world’s fastest-growing manufacturing sectors. As a result of this rise in production, as well as the increasing rate of product consumption, e-waste from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), has become the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. This study helps to quantify the existing generation rate, health, and environmental impacts of e-waste. A structured questionnaire has been processed in Gazipur and existing literature was reviewed. A total of 1200 households were interviewed using structured questionnaires. The results revealed that several income families used different types of electronics products. Eproduct consumption depends on an individual’s income and e-waste generation depends on warranty policy and product life cycle. The health consequences of both direct exposures during recycling and indirect exposures through environmental contamination are potentially severe but poorly studied. E-waste concepts are relatively new in Gazipur as a result this study revealed, 840 households were aware of health and environmental impacts. E-waste minimization, reuse, or recycling is necessary but it should be conducted in a safe and standardized system. Recycling stations should be established with maintaining safety measures for workers and to conserve the environment from being contaminated. The government should involve in waste management by establishing rules and regulations specific to health safety and environmental issue relating to e-waste