Knowledge and management of WEEE by independent repairers in the city of Bouake in a context of health and environmental risk, 2022

Studies on waste management in Côte d'Ivoire are mostly focused on household and solid waste. It is appropriate to take a sustained look at the management of electrical and electronic equipment waste to better guide policies in this area. This work is a cross-sectional study covering the period from April 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022. The aim was to determine the knowledge and practices of the independent electrical and electronic repairers of the city of Bouaké in terms of electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE) management. A comprehensive sample of 307 people was interviewed by means of a questionnaire. The repairers interviewed had already heard of WEEE in 47.2% of cases. They had a good level of knowledge of WEEE in 85.5% of cases. In the final model in multivariate analysis, only the possession of a radio set at home had a significant influence on knowledge of WEEE. Repairers were unaware of the existence of D3E management legislation in 60.7% of cases; apart from humans (84.8%) who were most exposed to the dangers of inappropriate management of WEEE, other entities (air, soil, water, animals) would be polluted according to 36.6, 35.2, 4.1, and 3.4% of repairers, respectively. The most feared type of harm reported is injury (95.65%). Subjects dumped WEEE in a municipal landfill in 32.4% of cases. Sale, empowerment of pre-collection agents, and handing over to a recycling professional, cumulatively represent the most common practice (66.9%).

Relation entre exposition professionnelle des manipulateurs de déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques et problèmes respiratoires à Bamako en 2019 / Relationship between occupational exposure of waste electrical and electronic equipment handlers and respiratory problems in Bamako in 2019

Introduction: les déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques (D3E), avec leurs enjeux sanitaires et environnementaux, sont devenus un problème de santé publique exposant les travailleurs aux composés d'éléments toxiques responsables de (2ème expertise) troubles respiratoires. Objectif: Etudier la relation entre l'exposition professionnelle aux D3E et la survenue des problèmes respiratoires à Bamako en 2019. Matériel et Méthodes : Il s'agissait d'une étude transversale, analytique de 6 mois, menée dans la ville de Bamako en 2019 et concernait 159 manipulateurs de D3E. Les données ont été collectées sur tablette et les analyses univariées et multivariées réalisées sur SPSS version 22 au seuil de significativité de 0,05 avec présentation des Odds Ratio (OR) et leurs intervalles de confiance à 95% (OR[IC95%]). Résultats : La prévalence en général des troubles respiratoires était de 67,3% chez les manipulateurs des D3E. On notait que le retrait du revêtement des fils électroniques (OR[IC95%] =25,93[2,30;291,53]), la perte de poids récente en dehors d'un régime (OR[IC95%] =7,43[1,68;32,85]) et la rareté de lavage des mains avec du savon après les toilettes (OR[IC95%] =11,50[2,07;63,89]) représentaient un risque plus élevé de problèmes respiratoires. Conclusion :Ces résultats montrent que les manipulateurs de D3E ont beaucoup de comportement à risque des problèmes respiratoires. Cette étude pourrait servir à la mise en œuvre de stratégies visant à réduire l'impact des D3E

Introduction: waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), with its health and environmental issues, has become a public health problem exposing workers to toxic compounds causing respiratory problems. Objective: To study the relationship between professional exposure to WEEE and the occurrence of respiratory problems in Bamako in 2019. Material and Methods: This was a 6-month cross-sectional, analytical study carried out in the city of Bamako in 2019 and involved 159 WEEE manipulators. Data were collected using a tablet (2). Univariate and multivariate analyzes were performed using SPSS version 22 with the significance level of 0.05. Odds Ratio (OR) were presented with their 95% confident interval (OR [95%CI]). Results: The overall prevalence of respiratory disorders was 67.3% among WEEE handlers. It was noted that the removal of the coating of electronic wires (OR [95%CI] =25.93[2.30;291.53]), recent weight loss outside of a diet (OR [95% CI] =7,43[1.68;32.85]) and the infrequent hand washing with soap after the toilet (OR [95% CI] =11.50[2.07; 63.89]) represented a higher risk of (2) breathing problems. Conclusion: These results show that D3E handlers have a lot of risky behavior for respiratory problems. This study could be used to implement strategies to reduce the impact of D3E

Residuos de celulares y tabletas: incidencia del nivel de escolaridad en las actitudes y percepciones frente a su manejo / Residues of cell phones and tablets: incidence of the school level in the attitudes and perceptions in front of its handling

RESUMEN El avance tecnológico ha traído consigo la generación de residuos de celulares y tabletas. Esta tendencia seguirá en aumento, dado el fácil acceso a estos dispositivos. En el siguiente estudio, se relaciona la incidencia del nivel de escolaridad, sobre las actitudes y las percepciones, que se tienen sobre el manejo de los residuos provenientes de celulares y de tabletas, con el fin de ahondar en esta problemática y aportar insumos para la creación de estrategias y de políticas encaminadas al desarrollo sustentable. Para esto, se aplicó una encuesta a 450 personas que habitan en la ciudad de Florencia - Caquetá, Colombia. Se realizó un test de independencia, que permitió decidir si el nivel de escolaridad incide sobre las actitudes y las percepciones. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que no existe tal dependencia con las actitudes, pero sí con las percepciones, lo que demuestra la inconsistencia del ser humano entre lo que piensa y cómo actúa. Un hallazgo relevante en el presente estudio es que, en su gran mayoría, estos dispositivos o sus partes, después de un tiempo, terminan en la basura, junto con los residuos convencionales.

SUMMARY The technological advance has brought with it the generation of cell and tablet waste. This trend will continue to increase, given the easy access to these devices. In the following study, the incidence of schooling level is related to attitudes and perceptions about the handling of cell and tablet waste, in order to deepen this problem and provide inputs for the creation of strategies and policies aimed at sustainable development. For this, a survey was applied to 450 people living in the city of Florencia Caquetá Colombia. An independence test was carried out, which allowed to decide if the level of schooling affects attitudes and perceptions. The results obtained indicated that there is no such dependence on attitudes, but with perceptions, this shows the human being's lack of balance between what he thinks and how he acts. A relevant finding in the present study, is that the vast majority of these devices or their parts, after a while end up in the trash, along with conventional waste.

Avaliação da geração de resíduos de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos (REEEs) em uma universidade particular / Evaluation of the electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE) generation in a private university

RESUMO Resíduo de equipamento eletroeletrônico (REEE) é um termo utilizado para abranger diversos equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos que não possuem mais valor para seus proprietários. Este trabalho propôs avaliar a geração de REEEs em uma instituição de ensino superior particular localizada no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Para este trabalho foram utilizados dados de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos (EEEs) disponíveis no sistema de informações da universidade, o qual totalizava 51.066 itens, englobando aproximadamente 17 anos de dados. Verificou-se que o principal REEE gerado pela instituição são equipamentos de informática e telecomunicações (48,2%), seguido pelos grandes eletrodomésticos (14,4%), instrumentos de monitoramento (13,3%), ferramentas elétricas e eletrônicas (10,9%) e equipamentos de consumo (9,8%). Foram contabilizados 414 diferentes tipos de EEEs na instituição; porém, observa-se que, com exceção dos instrumentos de monitoramento, os 2 principais EEEs de cada categoria contabilizam sozinhos mais de 50% de suas respectivas categorias. Identificou-se que a maior parte dos REEEs (29,3%) da instituição são gerados no bloco administrativo da universidade, seguido pelas salas de informática (17,3%). Esses dois setores se caracterizam por utilizarem EEEs de rápida obsolescência, enquanto áreas como as Ciências Biológicas e, parcialmente, as Ciências Exatas, devido ao elevado número de equipamentos analíticos utilizados, possuem EEEs com um ciclo de vida maior, reduzindo assim a geração desses resíduos. Todas essas características resultam em uma grande complexidade na gestão de REEEs em unidades de ensino superior, em especial devido à grande variedade encontrada, sendo muitos deles de difícil reciclagem.

ABSTRACT Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is an expression used to refer to several pieces of equipment that are no longer valuable for their owners. This study evaluated the WEEE generation in a private higher education institution, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In this study, we used data from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) available in the university information system, which amounted 51.066 items during 17 years. The main WEEE generated by the institution was Information technology (IT) and telecommunications equipment (48.2%), followed by large household appliances (14.4%), monitoring and control instruments (13.3%), electrical and electronic tools (10.9%) and consumer equipment (9.8%). Over 414 EEE classes were identified in the institution, although, except for monitoring and control instruments, the 2 main EEEs in each class correspond to at least 50% of its categories. In addition, it was noticed that the majority of WEEE was generated by the university administration (29.3%), followed by the computer classrooms (17.3%). These two areas feature low life EEEs, while other areas like Biology and Exact Sciences, due to the high number of analytics equipment used, have EEEs with longer life cycle, resulting in smaller waste generation. All these characteristics result in a great complexity in WEEE management in higher education institutions, mostly due to the considerable diversity, increasing the recycling complexity.

Estimativa da geração de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos de origem domiciliar: proposição de método e aplicação ao município de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil / Evaluation of Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipments generation from households: proposal of method and application to the City of São Paulo, Brazil

RESUMOConhecer a geração de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos (REEE) é fundamental para sua gestão. O fluxo domiciliar de EEE é complexo, pois tem seu descarte associado a fatores tecnológicos, econômicos e comportamentais. O artigo apresenta método para estimativas de REEE de origem domiciliar: estoque de equipamentos em uso, armazenados e descartados, e do potencial de geração de resíduos. O método aplicado ao município de São Paulo, São Paulo, resultou em 71,9 milhões de EEE, dos quais 8,8 milhões (12,2%) fora de uso. O valor médio de EEE correspondeu a 18,2 EEE por domicílio; média per capita de 5,3 EEE por habitante. A média de descarte per capita estimada resultou em 4,8 kg.hab-¹.ano-¹. O potencial de geração de resíduos a partir dos EEE fora de uso variou entre 2,9 a 6,0 kg.hab-¹.ano-¹. O método proposto proporcionou qualidade às estimativas, resultando em importantes indicadores para a gestão.

ABSTRACTEvaluation of the generation of Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is fundamental to waste management. Discard of household flow is complex because is associated to technologic, economic and behavioral factors. This paper presents a method to estimate household-originated WEEE: stock of equipment in use, stored and discarded, as well as potential generation of waste. The proposed method applied to the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, resulted in the total amount of 71.9 million EEE, 8.8 million of which (12.2%) are out of service. Average values were estimated: 18.2 EEE per household and 5.3 EEE per inhabitant. Average discharge per capitaresulted in 4.8 kg.inhabitant-1.year-1. Potential of generated waste based on out-of-service EEE varies from 2.9 to 6.0 kg.inhabitant-1.year-1 depending on the adopted scenario. The method added quality to the estimates of important indicators for WEEE management.

Bioleaching of gold, copper and nickel from waste cellular phone PCBs and computer goldfinger motherboards by two Aspergillus nigerstrains

In an effort to develop alternate techniques to recover metals from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), this research evaluated the bioleaching efficiency of gold (Au), copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) by two strains of Aspergillus niger in the presence of gold-plated finger integrated circuits found in computer motherboards (GFICMs) and cellular phone printed circuit boards (PCBs). These three metals were analyzed for their commercial value and their diverse applications in the industry. Au-bioleaching ranged from 42 to 1% for Aspergillus niger strain MXPE6; with the combination of Aspergillus niger MXPE6 + Aspergillus niger MX7, the Au-bioleaching was 87 and 28% for PCBs and GFICMs, respectively. In contrast, the bioleaching of Cu by Aspergillus niger MXPE6 was 24 and 5%; using the combination of both strains, the values were 0.2 and 29% for PCBs and GFICMs, respectively. Fungal Ni-leaching was only found for PCBs, but with no significant differences among treatments. Improvement of the metal recovery efficiency by means of fungal metabolism is also discussed.

Caracterización de los residuos sólidos ordinarios presentes en el área de interés paisajístico Alonso Vera (Girardot, Cundinamarca) y sus posibles implicaciones ambientales / CHARACTERIZATION OF ORDINARY SOLID WASTE IN THE ALONSO VERA LANDSCAPE ZONE (Girardot, Cundinamarca) AND THEIR POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Actualmente, el manejo integral de los residuos sólidos ordinarios resulta un reto para todas las naciones del mundo, con implicaciones ambientales en el suelo, agua y atmosfera. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este estudio fue realizar un primer análisis de los residuos sólidos (plástico, vidrio, papel, y RAEE) registrados en un pequeño relicto de bosque del área de interés paisajístico Alonso Vera, localizado en el municipio de Girardot (Cundinamarca). La recolección y clasificación de los residuos se realizó el 14 de marzo de 2013 desde las 8:00 a.m. hasta las 11:00 a.m. con un esfuerzo de captura de 10 personas/sendero-márgenes, empleando elementos de protección como guantes y tapabocas para el pesaje de los residuos. En el relicto de bosque se recolectó en un día un total de 94 kg de residuos sólidos, siendo los RAEE y plásticos los más abundantes con 24,5 kg y 17 kg respectivamente. De este modo, se concluye preliminarmente que el relicto de bosque está siendo alterado principalmente por la disposición de plásticos y RAEE, siendo preocupante que la descomposición de estos residuos representa un riego para la salud humana e integridad de los ecosistemas.

Currently, the comprehensive management of ordinary solid waste becomes a challenge for all nations in the world, with environmental implications in soil, water and atmosphere. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform a first analysis of solid waste (plastic, glass, paper, and WEEE) registered in a small relict forest of the Alonso Vera landscape zone, located in the municipality of Girardot (Cundinamarca). The collection and classification of waste was carried out on March 14, 2013 from 8:00 am until 11:00 am, with a capture effort of 10 people / forest trails, using protective gear such as gloves and masks for weighing the residue..In the forest relict a total of 94 kg of solid waste was collected in one day, being WEEE and plastic the most abundant with 24.5 kg and 17 kg respectively. This way, it is preliminarily concluded that the forest relict is being influenced mainly by the disposal of plastics and WEEE, matter of concern since the decomposition of this waste represents a risk to human health and the ecosystem integrity.

Estimativa do fluxo dos resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos no município de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil / Flow of e-waste at the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o fluxo dos resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos (REEE) no município de Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais, Brasil. Para atingir o objetivo, pesquisaram-se a estimativa de geração, a quantidade e o peso dos materiais recicláveis e de substâncias tóxicas presentes. Os resultados mostraram que o potencial de geração é de 153 mil toneladas de resíduos para o período de 2008 a 2023, e a principal destinação dada pelos consumidores particulares para o descarte desses resíduos é a doação. Concluiu-se que as iniciativas de gerenciamento ambientalmente adequadas são oriundas de iniciativas privadas e aplicadas somente em equipamentos de informática e telefonia móvel, e que os demais resíduos estão sendo manipulados sem as devidas precauções de saúde e segurança do trabalhador, bem como dispostos de forma irregular.

The aim of this study was to obtain an understanding of the flow of e-waste at the city of Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais, Brazil. An estimative of the amount of e-waste generated and the domestic and second hand flow were investigated to achieve this goal. The results estimated approximately 153,000 tones of e-waste generated for the period of 2008 to 2023, and the main domestic disposal given by the consumers is donation. We concluded that the environmental management initiatives usually comes from the private sector and are applied to computers and mobile phones only. Other e-wastes are handled using improper tools, creating health and safety hazards for the workers, as well as those e-wastes have been arranged in an irregular way.