Chapter 4
Plastics and e-Waste, a Threat to Water
Systems
Bhawana Jain, Ajaya K. Singh , and Md. Abu Bin Hasan Susan
Contents
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
4.2 Effects of e-Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
4.3 Types of Plastics and Its Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.4 Plastics in Water System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.5 Impact of Plastics Present in Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.6 Solution to Reduce Plastics and e-Waste Pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
4.7 Challenges During Detection of Microwaste and Nanowaste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Abstract Plastics and e-waste are major emerging problems in developed and
developing countries around the globe. Annual production of plastics is 300 million
metric tonnes and that of electronics goods is 50 million tonnes in the world. As per
latest survey, it is estimated that approximately 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been
produced since the early 1950s. About 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a
landfill or the natural environment. Accumulation of plastics and electronic plastics
in environment generally occurs by release of small particles from our daily chores,
that is, use of cosmetics, textile fabrics, carry bag, disposal utensils, bottled water,
mobiles, electronic gazettes, television, refrigerator, etc. Every bit of plastics and
e-waste ever made will always remain and pollute the environment. We reviewed the
overall scenario, which comprises a multitude of components with valuable materials, some containing toxic substances that can have an adverse impact on human
health. Pollutants of this kind can affect the land, water, and air. Microplastics and
e-wastes are extensively distributed in both fresh and sea water system. Once mixed
B. Jain · A. K. Singh (*)
Department of Chemistry, Government V. Y. T. PG. Autonomous, College, Durg, Chhattisgarh,
India
M. A. B. H. Susan
Department of Chemistry, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Remediation: Organic Pollutants,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 54,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52395-4_4
119
Plastics and e-Waste, a Threat to Water
Systems
Bhawana Jain, Ajaya K. Singh , and Md. Abu Bin Hasan Susan
Contents
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
4.2 Effects of e-Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
4.3 Types of Plastics and Its Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.4 Plastics in Water System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.5 Impact of Plastics Present in Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.6 Solution to Reduce Plastics and e-Waste Pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
4.7 Challenges During Detection of Microwaste and Nanowaste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Abstract Plastics and e-waste are major emerging problems in developed and
developing countries around the globe. Annual production of plastics is 300 million
metric tonnes and that of electronics goods is 50 million tonnes in the world. As per
latest survey, it is estimated that approximately 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been
produced since the early 1950s. About 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a
landfill or the natural environment. Accumulation of plastics and electronic plastics
in environment generally occurs by release of small particles from our daily chores,
that is, use of cosmetics, textile fabrics, carry bag, disposal utensils, bottled water,
mobiles, electronic gazettes, television, refrigerator, etc. Every bit of plastics and
e-waste ever made will always remain and pollute the environment. We reviewed the
overall scenario, which comprises a multitude of components with valuable materials, some containing toxic substances that can have an adverse impact on human
health. Pollutants of this kind can affect the land, water, and air. Microplastics and
e-wastes are extensively distributed in both fresh and sea water system. Once mixed
B. Jain · A. K. Singh (*)
Department of Chemistry, Government V. Y. T. PG. Autonomous, College, Durg, Chhattisgarh,
India
M. A. B. H. Susan
Department of Chemistry, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Remediation: Organic Pollutants,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 54,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52395-4_4
119