Special waste from e-waste: a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

The growing production of electronic products, as well as the increase in their consumption, generated concern about e-waste, which can be defined as any electronics discarded material or obsolete. In this sense, this paper aims to present a Systematic Review of Literature (SRL) about the previous papers published about this theme. The database used was CAPES Journal, with keywords related to the topic. The topics were selected according to the following criteria: only the documents of the type paper; published in the last 5 years; with related title and abstract. In total, 11 papers were selected for a complete reading. In the analysis of the paper content, it was observed that the major concern about the e-trash disposal related to environmental and human health damages. In relation to the measures to mitigate the problem, as most cited were: reuse, recycling, and Reverse Logistics. Reverse Logistics, although provided by law, is an operation of high cost and complexity. Another possibility cited was the virtualization process, a useful resource to reduce the amount of junk, which can be a subject of future researches. Thus, the results demonstrated the importance of de correct disposal of e-trash in order to avoid environmental problems.