Science and Regulation:
The Electronics Revolution: From E-Wonderland to E-Wasteland
Oladele A. Ogunseitan,1,*
Julie M. Schoenung,2
Jean-Daniel M. Saphores,3
Andrew A. Shapiro4
Since the mid-1990s, electronic waste (e-waste) has been recognized as the fastest-growing component of the solid-waste stream, as small consumer electronic products, such as cellular phones, have become ubiquitous in developed and developing countries (1). In the absence of adequate recycling policies, the small size, short useful life-span, and high costs of recycling these products mean they are routinely discarded without much concern for their adverse impacts on the environment and public health. These impacts occur throughout the product life cycle, from acquisition of raw materials (2) to manufacturing to disposal at the end of products' useful life.
1 Program in Public Health and School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
2 Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Economics, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
4 Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
* Author for correspondence. E-mail: Oladele.Ogunseitan{at}uci.edu
