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Review
. 2023 Oct;30(48):105030-105055.
doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-29511-8. Epub 2023 Sep 19.

A critical review on sustainable hazardous waste management strategies: a step towards a circular economy

Ashutosh Kumar  1   2 , Amit K Thakur  3 , Gajendra Kumar Gaurav  4 , Jiří Jaromír Klemeš  5 , Vishal Kumar Sandhwar  6 , Kamal Kishore Pant  1 , Rahul Kumar  3
Affiliations
Review

A critical review on sustainable hazardous waste management strategies: a step towards a circular economy

Ashutosh Kumar et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Globally, industrialisation and urbanisation have led to the generation of hazardous waste (HW). Sustainable hazardous waste management (HWM) is the need of the hour for a safe, clean, and eco-friendly environment and public health. The prominent waste management strategies should be aligned with circular economic models considering the economy, environment, and efficiency. This review critically discusses HW generation and sustainable management with the strategies of prevention, reduction, recycling, waste-to-energy, advanced treatment technology, and proper disposal. In this regard, the major HW policies, legislations, and international conventions related to HWM are summarised. The global generation and composition of hazardous industrial, household, and e-waste are analysed, along with their environmental and health impacts. The paper critically discusses recently adapted management strategies, waste-to-energy conversion techniques, treatment technologies, and their suitability, advantages, and limitations. A roadmap for future research focused on the components of the circular economy model is proposed, and the waste management challenges are discussed. This review stems to give a holistic and broader picture of global waste generation (from many sources), its effects on public health and the environment, and the need for a sustainable HWM approach towards the circular economy. The in-depth analysis presented in this work will help build cost-effective and eco-sustainable HWM projects.

Keywords: E-waste; Environmental remediation; Industrial waste; Integrated treatment; Recycling; Sustainability; Waste treatment technologies; Waste-to-energy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The HW identification process by a hazardous and other waste rules, 2016, India, b Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C of USA, and c China GB 5085.7–2007 identification standard (CNMEE 2019)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Principles of the circular economy for waste management (Corona et al. 2019)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The global trend of waste generation and forecast for 2030 and 2050 (Economist 2018) (Kaza et al. 2018)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Global waste generation by a region and b income level (Kaza et al. 2018)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The composition of municipal solid waste a global (Kaza et al. 2018), b USA (EPA 2016), and c India (CPCB | inventory 2022)
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
A typical composition of e-waste generated in 2019 (Forti et al. 2020)
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
The environmental impact and health impact of the hazardous waste
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
A graphical framework of HW generation, classification, management strategies, and impacts
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
a The global status of MSW management (Geyer et al. 2017). b Category-wise statistics HW generated between 2017 and 2021 in India (CPCB | inventory 2022)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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