ABSTRACT
Brazil is one of the main producers of e-waste in the world, but its waste management system does not encourage a circular economy. The country lacks reliable data on important metrics such as rates of collection and recycling and the destination of resources. There has been a slow regulatory progress, but it is not possible to measure its effectiveness without the aforementioned data. We obtained primary data to bridge this information gap by mapping and interviewing e-waste recyclers in Brazil. The mapping identified 140 recyclers, of which 82 were confirmed. Their geographical distribution closely matches the demographics. The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a severe impact on the country’s e-waste recycling chain. We have been able to estimate that Brazil recycles about 1.6kt of e-waste per month (77kt per year), based on the amount of waste processed, which is only 3.6% of the total e-waste generated. There is an uneven size distribution among e-waste recyclers;most (51.4%) are small facilities processing ≤10t per month. Large facilities (processing ≥100t per month) are in the minority (11.4%), yet they are responsible for processing 70.5%. These large facilities have the most advanced and automated processes, while the small facilities rely mainly on manual tools to dismantle the incoming e-waste. Despite observing an increase in more advanced processes, there has also been an increase in the number of facilities that export material (mainly to the USA and Europe). Therefore, Brazil is still unable to recover valuable end-materials from the recycling chain (e.g. gold, silver, rare earth elements), but seems to be supplying a more valuable product to international buyers who will, in turn, recover these end-materials.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 outbreak circulating the world is far from being controlled, and possible contamination routes are still being studied. There are no confirmed cases yet, but little is known about the infection possibility via contact with sewage or contaminated water as well as with aerosols generated during the pumping and treatment of these aqueous matrices. Therefore, this article presents a literature review on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in human excreta and its pathways through the sewer system and wastewater treatment plants until it reaches the water bodies, highlighting their occurrence and infectivity in sewage and natural water. Research lines are still indicated, which we believe are important for improving the detection, quantification, and mainly the infectivity analyzes of SARS-CoV-2 and other enveloped viruses in sewage and natural water. In fact, up till now, no case of transmission via contact with sewage or contaminated water has been reported and the few studies conducted with these aqueous matrices have not detected infectious viruses. On the other hand, studies are showing that SARS-CoV-2 can remain viable, i.e., infectious, for up to 4.3 and 6 days in sewage and water, respectively, and that other species of coronavirus may remain viable in these aqueous matrices for more than one year, depending on the sample conditions. These are strong pieces of evidence that the contamination mediated by contact with sewage or contaminated water cannot be ruled out, even because other more resistant and infectious mutations of SARS-CoV-2 may appear.