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A Systematic Review of E-Waste Generation and Environmental Management of Asia Pacific Countries

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Due to the rapid increase in the use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) worldwide, e-waste has become a critical environmental issue for many governments around the world. Several studies have pointed out that failure to adopt appropriate recycling practices for e-waste may cause environmental disasters and health concerns to humans due to the presence of hazardous materials. This warrants the need for a review of the existing processes of e-waste management. In view of the growing e-waste generation in the Asia Pacific region and the importance of e-waste management, this study critically reviews previous research on e-waste generation and management practices of major e-waste producing nations (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia) in the Asia Pacific region, provides an overview of progress made and identifies areas for improvement. To fulfil the aims of this research, previous studies from 2005 to 2020 are collected from various databases. Accordingly, this study focuses on e-waste generation and environmental management of these countries. This study found that e-waste management practices of the selected countries need to be enhanced and recommends several best practices for effectively managing e-waste.

1. Introduction

The Asia Pacific region is highly populated and is considered one of the fastest developing regions in the world. In addition, many countries in this region underwent rapid industrialisation, driven by foreign direct investments [ 1 ] due to a relatively cheap labour force. One of the industries that benefited from these factors is the electrical and electronics industry, which has experienced a major transformation due to increased technological and market developments [ 2 ]. Today, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has become indispensable and enhance living standards, but often contain toxic chemicals that negatively impact human health and the environment and fuel the climate crisis [ 2 , 3 ]. The growth in demand and increased sales of EEE have consequently led to the rise in the volume of e-waste [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].

E-waste is one of the most urgent and pressing challenges of our time; however, it is routinely ignored. Across the world, the growing amount of e-waste threatens the environment and local communities, as incorrectly disposed e-waste results in life-endangering toxic chemicals released into the environment and the loss of precious metals [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Perkins et al. [ 8 ] point out that the amount of e-waste generated each year is increasing at an alarming rate. In 2019 alone, more than 50 million tons (Mt) of e-waste was generated globally. Of this total e-waste, 24.9 million tons were generated in the Asia Pacific region alone. The amount of e-waste generated worldwide increased three times faster than the world’s population. Forti et al. [ 2 ] estimate that the volume of e-waste generated globally will exceed 74 million tons (Mt) by 2030. However, the level of recycling is not keeping up the pace. In fact, less than 13 per cent of e-waste was recycled in the same year. Moreover, the majority of e-waste generated is being diverted for landfilling, which is a common approach to disposing of e-waste worldwide [ 9 ]. The major issue with the current e-waste management practices is: (a) lack of efficient collection and recycling systems and (b) lack of mechanisms to hold producers of EEE accountable for the end-of-life disposal [ 2 ]. Hence, failure to adopt appropriate e-waste recycling processes may lead to enormous environmental and health issues [ 3 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].

This study identified three research gaps. Firstly, although, literature presents results of various studies on e-waste generation [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], recycling [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], treatment [ 4 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], and environmental management [ 8 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]; however, few studies have focused on the impact of e-waste generated in the Asia Pacific countries selected and its consequential effects on human health and the environment. Secondly, Forti et al. [ 2 ] suggest that many countries, including countries in the Asia Pacific region, are not sufficiently managing e-waste generated, and greater effort is needed to ensure smarter and more sustainable global production, consumption, management, and disposal of e-waste. The authors also indicated that more e-waste is generated than is being safely recycled in many countries of the world, and more corporative efforts are needed to tackle the escalating e-waste problem through appropriate research and training. Forti et al. [ 2 ] and Balde et al. [ 3 ] noted that the issues emanating from e-waste management in today’s digitally connected world are primarily due to the way we produce, use, and dispose of electronic devices, which are currently unsustainable. Bhaskar and Kumar [ 25 ] added that implementing appropriate e-waste management strategies will contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals and reduce the global climate crisis through developing the necessary, needed, and required e-waste policies. Thirdly, while investigations and discussions on e-waste generation and management have been ongoing for several decades. However, the problems and challenges on e-waste generation and management remain unabated [ 2 , 26 , 27 ].

The purpose of this study is to critically review the existing strategies and practices adopted by the major e-waste producing countries in the Asia Pacific region in managing and regulating e-waste to minimise the environmental and health impacts created as a result of inappropriate recycling and disposal practices.

A key initiative and motivation of this study is to identify the problems/challenges in managing e-waste in the selected Asia Pacific countries and recommend appropriate management strategies and policy approaches to handle and regulate e-waste to significantly reduce environmental and health concerns. Accordingly, this study reviews previous research on e-waste generation and environmental management of Australia, China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, identifies problems and challenges that negatively impact e-waste management in these countries, provides an overview of progress made, and identifies areas for future research.

The selected countries (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia) are among the largest producers of e-waste in the Asia Pacific region [ 2 , 13 , 18 , 28 ]. To fulfil the aims of this study, a comprehensive review of previous research articles on e-waste published from 2005 to 2020 was conducted. This study focuses on aspects such as the amount of e-waste generated, current recycling and disposal methods, environmental management of e-waste, individual/collective attitudes towards e-waste, current e-waste problems/challenges of selected countries. In addition, prior studies of the selected countries are categorised based on the type and scope of research, location of study, and e-waste categories analysed. This study uses the outcomes of previous studies, considers country-specific issues, and identifies future research areas to present best practices for e-waste generation and environmental management.

This paper is organised into five sections. The first section presents current literature on e-waste, the research problem, research gaps and research aim, and justification for this study. The second section outlines the chosen methodology and the justification for considering a systematic literature review. The third section details the e-waste management practices in the selected countries. The fourth section provides the results of this study and analyzes the results. The final section presents the findings of this study, limitations associated with the current study, policy recommendations for effective e-waste management, and future research opportunities.

2. Research Methods

In recent years, researchers have increasingly used quantitative and qualitative research (mixed methods) techniques to expand the scope and improve the analytic power of their studies [ 29 , 30 ]. Quantitative research method is a statistical and interpretive technique used to describe or explain the meaning and relationships of a phenomenon under investigation. Quantitative research typically involves probability sampling to allow statistical inferences to be made [ 29 , 31 ]. In contrast, qualitative research method is a non-numerical, precise count of some behaviour, attitudes, knowledge, or opinion for ascertaining and understanding the meaning and relationships of certain phenomena for generalisation. It typically involves purposeful sampling to improve understanding of the issues being examined [ 29 , 30 , 31 ].

This study adopts a qualitative research method to explore the issues relating to e-waste in the selected countries from existing research over the past years to guide future research in this area. To achieve the aim of this study, the five-phase approach of Wolfswinkel et al. [ 32 ] for conducting a systematic review and analysis of the literature is adopted. Adopting this five-phase approach enables the researchers to conduct a thorough search process and critically review and analyse the articles retrieved from the databases. The five-phase approach includes: (a) defining the scope of the review, (b) searching the literature, (c) selecting the final samples, (d) analysing the samples using content analysis, and (e) presenting the findings.

The first phase is to define the scope of the review. This includes the definition of specific criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of relevant sources and the criteria for identifying and retrieving those sources in the literature. In this study, four prominent databases are used to source literature, including ProQuest, Emerald, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The selection of these databases is due to their representativeness and coverage in the publication of top academic papers on e-waste in the selected countries. To ensure broad coverage of the studies in these databases, several keywords have been used for the search, which includes “electronic waste”, “e-waste”, “waste electrical and electronic equipment”, “e-waste management”, “e-waste recycling,” “e-waste disposal methods”, “e-waste problems and challenges” and “environmental management of e-waste”. Several criteria are used to set the limitation, including restricting the document type to scholarly journals, peer-reviewed conference papers, book chapters, and other institutional reports from United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO); the language in English, and the publication date from 2005 to 2020. These document types have been selected as they represent state-of-the-art research outputs with high impact [ 32 ].

The second phase is to run the search query within the selected databases for retrieving the search results. A total of 688 articles are returned using the above pre-defined search strings. This initial search enables us to gain a general understanding of the coverage of e-waste topics.

The third phase involves selecting the final samples for detailed analysis. The search is limited to the title and the abstract to focus on the search results. Titles and abstracts of all initial articles are screened for checking the relevance to e-waste. This leads to the identification of 235 relevant articles. Duplicate articles are removed. A total of 210 articles is assessed for eligibility, and after excluding those articles that did not meet eligibility criteria, a total of 185 articles is identified for further review.

The 185 articles have been read in full for coding and analysis. NVivo 12.0 is used for providing an overview of the general topics from all the abstracts of the included papers. An overview of the dispersion of the selected papers in terms of year of publication shows there is increased interest in e-waste from 2005 to 2020. Figure 1 below illustrates the search process using the PRISMA flow diagram.

PRISMA flow chart indicating the results of searches.

3. Overview of E-Waste

E-waste is defined as an electrical appliance that no longer satisfies the user for its intended purpose [ 33 ]. Meanwhile, StEP [ 34 ] defines e-waste as a term used to cover items of all types of EEE and its parts that have been discarded by the owner as waste without the intention of reuse.

Table 1 shows e-waste generated around the world and per continent in 2016. It is observed that the Asian continent generated the highest e-waste, followed by Europe and the Americas. Interestingly, the African continent produced one of the lowest e-waste even though it is the second most populated continent in the world [ 35 ]. Although the African continent produced the lowest amounts of e-waste due to slow technological growth and limited access to energy when compared to other continents, they suffer other kinds of pollution problems caused by traffic emissions, oil spills, heavy metals, refuse dumps, dust, and open burnings and incineration, which significantly contribute to environmental contamination in Africa [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Human exposure to toxic metals and environmental pollution has become a major health risk in Africa and is the subject of increasing attention to national and international researchers and environmentalists [ 37 , 38 ].

E-waste generated around the world and per continent in 2016 [ 4 ].

A further study was conducted in 2019 whereby the Asia Pacific region also generated the highest amount of e-waste in comparison to America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania regions. The Asia Pacific region generated around 25 Mt, followed by America at 13.1 Mt and Europe at 12.1 Mt. The study also showed that Africa generated 2.9 Mt and Oceania generated 0.7 Mt of e-waste [ 2 , 39 ]. This warrants the need to conduct a study on e-waste generation and environmental management of countries in the Asia Pacific region [ 14 , 15 , 40 ].

3.1. Constituents of E-Waste

Over the years, the use of electronic devices for domestic and commercial purposes has grown rapidly [ 8 ]. E-waste generally consists of a range of hazardous materials ( Table 2 ), including metals, pollutants, printed circuit boards, computer monitors, cables, plastics, and metal-plastic mixtures [ 2 ]. The composition and quantities of these materials vary in each electronic device depending on the manufacturer, the equipment type, model, and the age it was discarded. In comparison to household e-waste, the e-waste from the IT and telecommunication sector generally contains metals that are of high economic value [ 41 , 42 ]. These metals are generally categorised into precious and toxic metals. Precious metals include gold, silver, aluminium, iron, copper, platinum, etc. The value of precious metals in e-waste is estimated to be worth USD 14 billion. However, more than 50 per cent of these metals are not recovered [ 2 ]. Meanwhile, toxic metals in e-waste include mercury, cadmium, lead, and chromium [ 2 , 43 ].

The distinctive contents of e-waste.

3.2. E-Waste Generation and Management Practices

This study has selected five countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, from the Asia Pacific region because they are the major e-waste producers in the region. In line with the aim of this study, this section presents an in-depth analysis of waste generation, policies and management practices adopted by the selected countries in the Asia Pacific region. In addition, this section presents literature on e-waste generation and the opinions of scholars in this field. The following sub-sections explain e-waste management practices for the selected countries in the Asia Pacific region. Table 3 below presents e-waste key statistics for the selected countries.

E-waste key statistics 2019.

3.2.1. Australia

Australia is placed among the top 10 consumers of electronic products in the world. As a result, e-waste has become one of the fastest-growing waste streams in Australia [ 9 , 44 , 45 ]. The total and per capita e-waste generation in Australia has steadily increased in the last 10 years from 410 Kilotons (Kt) in 2010 to 554 Kt in 2019 as a result of an increase in sales of EEE [ 2 ]. Previously, due to the lack of an e-waste national regulatory framework, local government councils had difficulties in managing e-waste, and they had no strategies to address e-waste issues [ 46 , 47 ]. To resolve the nation’s escalating e-waste challenges, the Australian government established the National Waste Policy in 2019 to integrate existing policies and regulatory frameworks for e-waste management [ 9 , 45 , 48 ]. Thereafter, the Australian government introduced the National Product Stewardship Scheme in 2011 in collaboration with the State and Territory Governments and industries [ 9 , 26 , 45 ].

The introduction of the National Waste Policy in 2009 was designed to set the direction of Australia’s e-waste management and resource recovery for 10 years from 2010 to 2020. The policy was established to achieve several goals, including compliance to international obligations such as the Basel and Stockholm Conventions, reducing the generation of e-waste, and ensuring e-waste treatment, disposal, recovery, and reuse is safe and environmentally sound [ 44 , 47 ]. The Product Stewardship Act of 2011 was also designed to establish a framework by which the environmental, health, and safety impacts of electrical and electronic equipment and its recycling and disposal are adequately managed [ 44 , 45 ]. Currently, Australia’s e-waste system is in its evolving stages and while, progress has been made since the introduction of the National Waste Policy and the Product Stewardship Act, Australia’s e-waste is growing three times faster than other waste streams, and the capacity and sophistication of the nation’s systems need to grow and adapt [ 44 , 48 ].

3.2.2. China

China is one of the leading producers of EEE, and currently, the country is experiencing incredible growth in e-waste generation from both domestic and international sources [ 9 , 26 , 49 ]. Formal e-waste management in China is driven by government agencies designed to improve e-waste recycling and disposal and to encourage manufacturers to take back their products [ 21 , 49 ]. Thus, Chinese e-waste regulations are focused on extended producer responsibility (EPR), polluter pays, and 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) principles [ 50 ].

Informal e-waste recycling in China is often carried out by individual recyclers and unauthorised dismantling companies. Informal recyclers purchase used items and often either dismantle or repair them for the second-hand market. This unregulated e-waste recycling method is currently flourishing in China. Informal recycling provides livelihoods for many Chinese citizens and is creating serious environmental and health concerns. Thus, e-waste generation and management in China has remained a major problem and are fuelled by China’s inexpensive labour and manufacturing abilities. Informal recyclers do the majority of e-waste collection and recycling in most cities throughout China [ 50 ].

3.2.3. India

The increasing average annual growth rate from 0.56% in 1991 to 1.62% in 2011 has contributed significantly to an alarming amount of e-waste generation in India. India is among the top 10 countries in the world in e-waste generation after the U.S. and China. It is estimated that three (3) million tons of e-waste were produced in 2018 and is expected to reach five (5) million tons by the end of 2020 [ 51 , 52 , 53 ]. According to the Confederation of Indian Industries, the Indian electronics industry has a market size of approximately USD 65 billion in 2013, and this is expected to reach USD 400 billion by the end of 2020 [ 52 , 54 ].

Today, e-waste in India is a significant waste stream both in terms of volume and toxicity [ 55 ]. Approximately 152 million units of computers will become obsolete in India by the end of 2021 [ 55 , 56 ], creating serious management challenges and environmental/health problems. Each year, India domestically produces approximately 400,000 tons of e-waste [ 24 ]. Thus, India’s e-waste recycling is a market-driven industry [ 55 ] and is dominated by a number of informal actors. About 90% of the e-waste in India is illegally recycled in the informal sector and involves different groups, including women and children [ 57 , 58 ].

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is the national regulator responsible for formulating legislation related to e-waste management and environmental protection. MoEF approves the guidelines for the identification of the various sources of e-waste in India and endorses the procedures for handling e-waste in an appropriate and environmentally friendly manner [ 59 ]. Those involving e-waste are the 2004 “Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules” and the 2008 “Hazardous and Waste Management Rules.” New regulations are classified as the 2010 “E-waste Management and Handling Rules”, which became effective in 2012 [ 60 ]. While there are regulations on e-waste management and disposal in India, no regulation has effectively addressed the e-waste problem in India [ 52 , 58 ]. Currently, the majority of the hazardous materials found in e-waste are covered under “The Hazardous and Waste Management Rules, 2011 and the 2016 E-waste Management and Handling Rules” [ 52 ].

Despite EPR being a major policy approach in both e-waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011 and E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2016, they are not effectively implemented, and this can be attributed to certain peculiarities in India’s e-waste management system [ 51 , 61 ]. For example, due to some financial incentives involved, Indian consumers are willing to sell their obsolete e-waste to the “kawariwalas” (door-to-door scrap collectors). This behaviour is totally different from practices adopted by most developed countries whereby the producers and consumers have to pay “Recycling/Disposal Fee” [ 62 , 63 , 64 ].

3.2.4. Indonesia

Due to substantial growth in the economy coupled with rapid technological developments, e-waste generation in Indonesia has increased considerably [ 28 , 65 ]. In 2016, Indonesia generated 1274 kt of e-waste with a per capita generation of 4.9 kg [ 66 ]. Although e-waste appears as a global issue, it is not a common term for most people in Indonesia [ 67 , 68 ]. In Indonesia, e-waste management is dominated by the informal recycling sector, which is essentially made of unregulated and unregistered small businesses, groups, and individuals, while the formal sector consists of the country’s municipal agencies as the major actors [ 69 ].

Although the country has no presence of a specific regulation to manage its e-waste, the “Environmental Protection and Management Act No. 32/2009” and “Solid Waste Management Act No. 18/1999” are used in the regulation of e-waste produced in the country [ 70 , 71 ]. Since 2016, the Indonesian government has been in the process of formulating a unified e-waste regulation for the country, which would apply to all the 37 Indonesian provinces, but this is yet to be realised [ 28 , 72 ]. However, the absence of regulated licensed recycling companies in the country has encouraged inappropriate disposal of the majority of the EEE from households, businesses, and industries [ 71 ]. Currently, the informal sector illegally collects, treats, and disposes of discarded EEE triggering huge environmental and health concerns [ 65 , 72 ]. The difficulties/challenges in managing e-waste in Indonesia is primarily due to (a) the inability of the government to understand and deal with the interest of stakeholders involved, (b) the government regulations are beneficial to only a few parties, and (c) there is strong resistance between the government agencies [ 73 ].

3.2.5. Malaysia

In 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its economic outlook, ranked Malaysia as the 3rd largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 37th largest economy in the world [ 74 ]. With a healthy economic indicator, e-waste generation in Malaysia is expected to increase in the coming years. The growth in e-waste generation is anticipated worldwide because there is a strong correlation between economic growth and e-waste generation [ 75 , 76 ].

Management of e-waste in Malaysia is still in its infancy and only began in 2005 [ 77 ]. In Malaysia, e-waste is classified as scheduled waste under the code SW 110, “Environmental Quality Regulations 2005” and managed by the Department of Environment (DOE) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) [ 78 , 79 ]. The primary role of DOE and MNRE is pollution prevention and control through the enforcement of the “Environmental Quality Act 1974” (EQA 1974) [ 79 , 80 ]. Although there are strategies on e-waste management in place, they do not adequately guide the local consumers or the municipal authorities on how e-waste should be managed, reused, recycled, or disposed of [ 78 ]. Subsequent to the listing as e-waste under the “Environmental Quality Scheduled Waste Regulations (EQSWR) 2005”, e-waste in Malaysia was reported and managed as municipal solid waste through the Department of Solid Waste Management (DSWM) under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government [ 78 , 81 , 82 ].

3.3. A Review of Previous Studies

This study considered literature reviews to identify key issues associated with e-waste management and to conduct an extensive evaluation of e-waste management practices in the selected countries. We believe this knowledge will help the countries to overcome their challenges and develop appropriate strategies for recycling and disposing of e-waste. This section provides an overview of earlier studies in the selected countries. In particular, results from the literature review on e-waste generation and management practices adopted by the respective nations are presented. Furthermore, this section presents the scope and the context of earlier studies on e-waste management. Prior studies [ 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ] offer valuable insights into e-waste management in the selected countries. They also highlight the challenges associated with e-waste management and the need for developing comprehensive e-waste management strategies. Table 4 presents previous research on e-waste conducted in the selected countries from 2005 to 2020.

Previous studies on e-waste conducted in the selected countries from 2005 to 2020.

4. Results and Discussion

This study adopts a qualitative approach for studying e-waste management practices of the selected countries in the Asia Pacific region. As per Wolfswinkel et al. [ 32 ], this study adopted a five-phase approach. In the first phase, secondary data from 2005 to 2020 has been considered for reviewing existing literature on e-waste management in the selected countries. Then, a total of eight (8) keywords are used to identify and analyse the relevant articles. Finally, challenges and practices associated with e-waste management are discussed to present the proposed policy approaches and recommendations.

E-waste management has become a contentious issue due to the presence of hazardous materials and the health hazards it may cause if not managed properly. In fact, for more than a decade, scholars have conducted studies on informal e-waste collection and disposal methods [ 87 , 88 ]. However, these studies were limited to e-waste generation, prevention, quantification, recycling, treatment, reuse, pollution control, legislation, and life-cycle assessment, as noted in recent studies [ 83 , 85 , 87 , 89 , 90 , 91 ]. Undoubtedly, these studies presented opportunities to address some of the challenges associated with e-waste management. However, there is a limited study in addressing the environmental and health implications associated with e-waste for achieving sustainable e-waste management. Moreover, prior studies on e-waste are centred on a small number of developed countries, which represent a “standard” or “benchmark” for developing e-waste management policies for emerging countries. Therefore, this study aims to address these gaps.

4.1. E-Waste Studies in Selected Countries

After a critical review of the pertinent literature and a content analysis of the e-waste articles related to the selected countries, the dispersion of e-waste research in the selected countries according to the keywords/themes, e-waste categories examined, and the study location are illustrated in Table 5 . Based on the information presented in Table 5 , it is evident that most of the e-waste studies in the selected countries were focused on e-waste generation, management and recycling. A number of e-waste studies focused on problems and challenges, environmental management, and health impacts indicating that further research is required in these areas in the countries examined.

Distribution of e-waste research in selected countries.

4.2. Analysis of Content Results

Given the background review and analysis in the previous sections, it is obvious that the problem and challenges of e-waste in the selected countries still persist. Our analysis shows that the e-waste management systems and infrastructure of the selected countries, particularly India, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are still in their infancy. Currently, e-waste scrap such as printed circuit boards, CRT monitors, and LCD screens have been, and are still being, recycled in China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, creating huge environmental and health issues. Informal e-waste collection, recycling, and its health implications on informal workers in these countries have become increasingly popular in the last 15 years [ 89 , 92 , 93 , 94 ]. Table 6 shows the findings from the analysis of the contents.

Findings from the analysis of the contents.

In China, several towns have remained as a dumping ground for e-waste. For example, Guiyu town is often referred to as “the e-waste capital of the world” and employs more than 150,000 locals from four villages. These local informal workers dismantle and recapture valuable metals and parts that can be reused or sold from old computers. In Guiyu, it is not uncommon to see computer parts, cables, and huge tangles of wires scattered around the streets and riverbanks [ 88 , 95 , 96 , 97 ]. Findings/outcomes indicate that various issues geared towards developing a sustainable recycling system still need to be addressed.

In India, obsolete computers from households and businesses are sold by auction to door-to-door collectors who engage in informal methods of recycling. According to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), approximately 146,000 tons of obsolete EEE are generated in India annually [ 86 , 109 ]. The results of the analysis show that the recycling of e-waste in India is heavily dominated by the informal sector, and only a few approved e-waste recycling facilities are available. In the majority of urban slums of India, more than 95% of e-waste is treated and processed by untrained workers who carry out illegal and risky procedures. These illegal procedures are not only injurious to the health of the locals who work without personal protective equipment but also to the environment [ 55 , 86 ]. It is found that the formal process of e-waste recycling and treatment is still rather slow as the collection and recycling of most e-waste remains in the hands of the informal sector [ 86 , 109 ].

In Indonesia, large amounts of e-waste are imported from developed countries. E-waste in the form of scrap materials or second-hand devices is sent to Indonesian islands from the adjacent ports in Singapore and Malaysia. Findings indicate that, in Indonesia, infrastructure and workable systems to quantify, recycle, monitor, and handle e-waste is lacking [ 65 , 127 ]. Currently, the informal sector illegally collects, treats, and disposes of discarded EEE, causing huge environmental and health issues [ 65 , 71 ].

The management of e-waste in Malaysia is still developing and only began in 2005 [ 77 ]. Results indicate that although there are strategies to manage e-waste in Malaysia, challenges persist and the pressure to manage e-waste is now even more crucial. Malaysia has become one of the popular destinations of e-waste imported from developed countries [ 139 , 140 , 141 ]. Results of the analysis also indicate the country still faces significant issues in managing the ever-increasing amount of e-waste generated even though several material recovery facilities (MFR) have been established.

In Australia, several government policies have been developed. The key issues are identified in the e-waste management including: (a) the narrow scope of e-waste categories for recycling, (b) the lack of clarity on the roles of key stakeholders involved, (c) the recycling and material recovery targets, and (d) the lack of auditing and compliance. The results of the analysis show [ 47 , 142 , 143 ] minimal research has been undertaken to assess the effectiveness of e-waste policy management strategies [ 47 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 ].

It can be seen that the majority of the selected countries in this present study are faced with an increasing amount of e-waste. Although the per capita e-waste generated in the emerging countries is much lesser than in the developing countries, the volume generated is greater due to the growing population and market size in emerging countries such as India, China, and Indonesia. These countries are ranked among the top e-waste generators in the world.

The importance of selecting these countries such as Australia, India, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia in the Asia Pacific region in terms of environmental and market perspectives cannot be overemphasised. These selected countries have significant population, natural resources, and financial potentials [ 67 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 ]. Moreover, these countries have contributed substantially to the world’s GDP, landmass, and market share. This calls for a responsible e-waste management effort by these countries to effectively manage the growing amounts of e-waste generated for reducing environmental and health concerns.

Clearly, e-waste management processes in the majority of these countries examined still need improvement. Most of these countries studied have no well-established e-waste infrastructure for efficient collection, storage, transportation, recycling, and disposal of e-waste. In addition, the enforcement of codes of practice and regulations relating to hazardous e-waste management in these countries is minimal or non-existent.

Exposure to e-waste is harmful to public health. E-waste has been found to negatively impact public health because communities are exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals from multiple sources and through multiple exposure routes [ 152 ]. The results of this study indicate that the impact of e-waste is linked to a variety of health problems in the countries examined, such as birth defects, premature births, respiratory diseases, and cancer. Furthermore, people living in e-waste recycling towns or working in e-waste recycling sites showed evidence of greater DNA damage. A review of the literature also revealed an association between e-waste exposure and thyroid dysfunction, adverse behavioural changes, and damage to the lungs, heart, and spleen due to prolonged exposure [ 152 , 153 ].

Hence, e-waste has become one of the major challenges in these countries, and it is, therefore, crucial for these countries to investigate the development of a well-organised and inexpensive recycling scheme to extract valuable resources with inconsequential environmental impacts.

5. Conclusions

This study has evaluated the e-waste generation and management practices of the selected countries in the Asia Pacific region. Based on the review of past studies and results of the analysis, it is obvious that the majority of the selected countries are yet to find a workable e-waste management strategy that will provide a sustainable solution to their e-waste concerns.

Results of the analysis show that the volumes of e-waste generated are fast exceeding the available infrastructure and recycling facilities in the countries examined, thereby driving e-waste streams to flow into illegal and informal recovery. On top of that, the absence of an integrated framework that could support the monitoring and management of toxic and hazardous wastes has also created additional problems in managing e-waste in the selected countries and calls for a generic e-waste policy approach.

In addition, the increasing demand for second-hand EEE, particularly in developing countries (China, Indonesia, India, and Malaysia) due to poverty and the continuing technological modernisation, has made these countries dumping grounds for e-waste from developed countries. For example, China’s Guiyu town is well-known for the informal recycling of printed circuit boards. Specifically, “metal-contaminated sediments and elevated levels of dissolved metals have been reported in rivers around the town of Guiyu” [ 85 ].

Furthermore, sophisticated facilities and infrastructure required for formal recycling of e-waste using efficient technologies are minimal or non-existent in the selected countries. Formal recycling is widely accepted as the best way to manage e-waste, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps lessen the climate crisis. Thus, recycling e-waste will reduce air and water pollution associated with the illegal dumping of e-waste. By recycling discarded, unwanted, or obsolete EEE for new products, nations can further reduce the enormous health risks and environmental pollution associated with improper disposal of e-waste.

Therefore, to effectively manage e-waste in the selected countries, there is a need to develop generic structured policy approaches to tackle the e-waste problem in the selected countries and indeed across the world is required. These structured policies are projected to put in place formal systems and infrastructure for the recycling, management, and disposal of e-waste, taking into account country-specific issues.

One of the shortcomings of this study is that the information and analysis of previous studies are seen to be reality. This study is also limited to countries in the Asia Pacific region and considers the time limitation by the year of the articles found. Although the accuracy of some of the analyses in the present study is inescapably subjective, this study is a starting point for further research into various aspects of e-waste generation and management practices of the selected countries.

6. Recommendations

This study has exposed the current situation of e-waste generation and management practices of the selected countries. The following recommendations are suggested based on the findings of this study:

• E-waste regulations tailored to each country’s current situations should be enacted, recognising the lessons learned from more developed and experienced nations such as Japan, Switzerland, and South Korea;
• Extended producer responsibility (EPR) and 3Rs strategy should be implemented in EEE manufacturing regulations in all countries to support the production of simple, lightweight products, planned for reuse rather than obsolescence so that recycled materials can become resources for new products, thereby reducing the request for raw materials;
• Local government councils are key stakeholders in the management and recycling process and therefore incur major expenditures while handling e-waste. This, therefore, necessitates policymakers understanding of the determinants, drivers, and costs associated with e-waste collection and disposal;
• International integrated organisations should be established for checking specific e-waste material generation across the globe. This initiative will restrain the transboundary movement of e-waste across international borders.

Policy Approaches

Although different countries have endorsed and passed their respective e-waste regulations in other to manage e-waste, implementing appropriate and structured policy approaches will support all efforts directed towards effectively managing e-waste across the globe. Firstly, it is critical to have stepwise, and well-thought-out policy approaches for effectively formulating and implementing e-waste regulations and guidelines. Such approaches have been found to be effective in more advanced countries such as Switzerland, South Korea, and Japan, as noted above. In view of the multidimensional socio-economic nature of emerging economies, it is vital to consistently assess and evaluate existing policies to identify gaps and areas for improvement. This technique has also been found to be effective in Australia. Secondly, when implementing e-waste policies, interdisciplinary research approaches need to be considered. This will allow policymakers to better understand and address the various health and environmental problems associated with e-waste management. Finally, we believe that the policy approaches of respective countries geared towards dealing with the persistent and challenging e-waste issues require a local and specific approach where inherent socio-cultural, economic, political, and environmental concerns of that country are taken into consideration.

7. Future Research

Future research should use a quantitative approach or other research methods and expand the number of selected countries to understand e-waste generation and management practices of countries in the Asia Pacific region. This will provide additional viewpoints in the management, recycling, and environmental management of e-waste in the regions.

Author Contributions

L.A.: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing—Original Draft; S.W.: Visualisation, Validation, Writing—Review and Editing, Supervision; S.G.: Visualisation, Validation, Writing—Review and Editing, Supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Microplastics as contaminants in Indian environment: a review

• Review Article
• Published: 14 October 2021
• Volume 28 , pages 68025–68052, ( 2021 )

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• Mansi Vaid 1 ,
• Komal Mehra 1 &
• Anshu Gupta 1  

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The increased production and consumption scale of plastic items has led to the generation of microplastics (MPs), an emerging class of contaminants, in our environment. MPs are plastic particles less than 5 mm in size and could originate due to primary and secondary sources. The primary ones are generated as such in the MP size range while the secondary MPs are a result of fragmentation of larger plastic particles which eventually enters the aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric environments. The increasing concern of MP pollution in every compartment of our environment is being globally explored, with relatively fewer studies in India. Among the total studies published on MP prevalence in the Indian environments, marine systems have received significantly higher attention compared to the other compartments like freshwater, atmosphere, terrestrial and human consumables. This review article is an effort to present current understanding of MP pollution in aquatic systems, terrestrial systems, atmosphere and human consumables of India by reviewing available scientific literature. Along with this, the review also focuses on identification of the gap areas in current knowledge and highlights way forward for future research. This would further help in meeting the goals of this emergent pollutant management.

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Introduction

Plastic production has seen a huge growth since the last 70 years across the globe, to such a point that we can say that we are living in a plastic world. These polymers have become indispensable in modern life because of their properties like low manufacturing cost, adaptability, water-resistant nature, high strength-to-weight ratio and high thermal and electrical insulation properties, and are prevalent in almost every area like clothing, storage, transportation, packaging and construction, and in consumer goods (GESAMP 2015 ). However, in view of identification of the various emerging risks to the environment and human health associated with these synthetic polymers, concern is being raised regarding the massive production and disposal of plastics (Thompson et al. 2009 ; Sedlak 2017 ). For instance, in the present COVID-19 pandemic, the inadequate usage of plastic items has generated a massive chaos in the environment. In the review study by de Sousa ( 2021 ), it is elaborately discussed how a single-use plastic item like disposable face masks can impose variable levels of problems in our environment. From reports of deaths in organisms like Magellanic penguin ( Spheniscus magellanicus ) to generation of hazardous emissions in the environment due to incineration of infected plastic items, these synthetic materials are creating a severe threat for virtually every type of living organism thriving in our environment (de Sousa 2021 ). Bhuyan et al. ( 2021 ) have reviewed the global impacts of plastic exposure in different organisms and found reports of impairment in functioning of different body parts in humans, while entanglement issues, injury, accidental ingestion and fatalities in aquatic organisms.

Plastics are highly persistent in nature due to which their degradation occurs at a slower rate and their accumulation at a faster pace (Barnes et al. 2009 ). In the present scenario, worldwide prevalence of smaller fraction of plastics, i.e. microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), is gaining significant attention of the researchers globally due to their serious environmental consequences (Wright et al. 2013 ). MPs refer to any piece of plastic smaller than 5 mm to 1 µm in size along its longest dimension and comprise polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (Crawford and Quinn 2017 ). Depending on the specific sources of origin, MPs can be categorized into primary and secondary. Primary MPs are the ones that are intentionally manufactured by industrialists and other chemical agencies for use in cosmetics, personal care products, dermal exfoliators, etc. (Crawford and Quinn 2017 ), while the fragmentation of larger plastic items like fishing gear, food packaging, plastic bottles, synthetic textiles, car tyres, paints and cosmetics gives rise to a secondary fraction of MPs (Barboza and Gimenez 2015 ).

MPs have been present in the environment for many years; there is no doubt in this fact. They are distributed across the aquatic systems, land surface, inside biological organisms, human consumables and even in the air (Zbyszewski and Corcoran 2011 ; Klein et al. 2015 ; Prata 2018 ; Rezania et al. 2018 ; Waring et al. 2018 ; Barletta et al. 2019 ; Patel et al. 2020 ). The huge demand of plastic products owes to this widespread prevalence of MPs in the environment. According to the study reported by Law et al. ( 2020 ), the USA is the largest producer of plastic waste (generating around 42 million metric tons of plastic waste annually), followed by European Union, India, China, Brazil, Indonesia, Russian Federation, Germany and other countries. The gradual accumulation and subsequent fragmentation of these lead to the generation of MPs. Unfortunately, studies on this aspect is very limited yet, and out of the total 192 countries, only 22.9% have carried out research on MPs (Ajith et al. 2020 ).

Plastics industry is a fast-growing industry in India, where Western India has been the largest consumer of plastics (47%) with major consumption in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (FICCI 2014 ). Overall, the annual consumption of plastics in India is approximately 11 kg per capita (CSE 2019 ), and being a major consumer, it generates approximately 26 million metric tons of plastic wastes annually (Law et al. 2020 ), thereby holding an important position in the plastic waste generation community. Weathering and fragmentation of this plastic waste eventually leads to the generation of MPs, and its presence in various components of Indian environment is being researched by many scientists. As indicated by Ajith et al. ( 2020 ), the research on MPs has progressed in India from 2010 onwards (also represented in Fig. 1a based on our literature survey) and requires much more comprehensive studies in this domain due to various toxicities associated with this emergent pollutant.

Microplastic studies conducted in India. a The number of studies conducted year-wise; b percentage of studies conducted in different compartments; c percentage of studies conducted in different regions

Depending on the environmental matrix where these MPs are released, a wide array of consequences can occur. In aquatic systems, these can be ingested by the inhabiting organisms by mistaking MPs as their food, or sometimes due to their natural metabolism, organisms are exposed to MPs like in filter feeding organisms (Dowarah et al. 2020 ). In terrestrial systems, MPs are known to impact the functioning of organisms inhabiting these systems such as the soil dwelling invertebrates, plant pollinators and fungi (de Souza Machado et al. 2018 ; Madhav et al. 2020 ). While due to their increased bioavailability, subsequent changes can occur in the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil which might affect the terrestrial vegetation as well (Bi et al. 2020 ). In addition to this, trophic transfer of MPs or bioaccumulation can also occur (Madhav et al. 2020 ; Goswami et al. 2020 ). The wider reach of MPs has resulted in the contamination of air, water and soil, and by the processes of ingestion or inhalation, they are known to be consumed by humans as well (Mason et al. 2018 ; Zhang et al. 2020 ; Daniel et al. 2020 ; Selvam et al. 2020b ). Ragusa et al. ( 2021 ) have found in their study that MPs have permeated the human placenta as well and possible routes of transport are indicated via respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. In addition to this, synergistic impacts of MPs are also being encountered due to the adsorption of harmful substances like persistent organic pollutants (POPs), heavy metals, pesticides, antibiotics, pathogenic microorganisms and destructive algal blooms on their surface (Naik et al. 2019 ; Sathish et al. 2020a ). Naik et al. ( 2019 ) have further indicated ballast water as an important router for channelization of such contaminated MPs in global environmental matrices.

The pervasive occurrence of plastic pollution in different environmental matrices needs effective tracing for mitigation and control of the variable sources of this pollutant. As per the present scenario, limited reports are available to discuss the consequences of MPs prevailing in different parts of our environment. Majority of MP research has been conducted in North America, Europe and Australia while India has a very limited database in comparison to the expanse of the problems occurring due to these MP pollutants (Bhattacharya and Khare 2019 ). The present study is therefore an effort to highlight the immediate need of MP research in India as these pollutants create a multitude of problems in our environment.

Microplastic pollution in India

Situated in the southern portion of Asia, India is surrounded by the Arabian Sea in the south west and the Bay of Bengal in the south east and ultimately connects to the Indian Ocean. The country is situated between the latitude 8°4′ and 37°6′ N and the longitude 68°7′ and 97°25′ E and has a coastline of 7517 km (Kumar et al. 2006 ). For the assessment of status of MP pollution in the Indian environments, a detailed research of the literature was carried out using Google Scholar, Web of Science and SciFinder database till November 2020. A total of 64 studies conducted in different compartments of Indian environment (aquatic, atmospheric, terrestrial and human consumables) were found by searching these databases, which were further utilized to essence the construct of the present review article. A graphical representation (year-wise, compartment-wise and region-wise) of these studies is presented in Fig.  1 . The locations where MP studies were carried out in India are represented in Fig.  2 . Figure  1a clearly shows that the trend of MP research in Indian environments has caught the attention of the scientific community recently only. Furthermore, it is also revealed through these figures that the majority of the studies were conducted in marine environments (Fig. 1b ), making a 63% contribution to the entire dataset. Figure  1c gives an overview of the percentage of studies conducted in different parts of India with maximum studies conducted in Southern India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Pondicherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Indian Ocean) followed by Western India (Maharashtra and Gujarat) and Eastern India (Bihar and West Bengal) and lowest in Northern India (Delhi and Uttar Pradesh). The research interventions in freshwater systems, terrestrial systems, atmosphere and human consumables are lacking significantly at present, demanding a greater focus as these resources are equally important to us. Based on the present literature survey, three review articles concerning the presence of MPs in different environmental matrices of India were published by Veerasingam et al. ( 2020 ), Sarkar et al. ( 2020 ) and Pandey et al. ( 2021 ). The present review is an attempt to further add on to the available knowledge.

MP studies conducted in different parts of India (highlighted with a red star). The geographic map was developed using ArcGIS Desktop Advanced 10.8.1

The hazards of MP pollution and its transport and accumulation in the environment (terrestrial, aquatic and atmosphere) are being researched upon globally, but the share of India in this global database is quite less. In India, this topic is slowly coming into existence. This comprehensive review is intended to summarize the research findings on MP prevalence in different compartments of Indian environment (aquatic, atmospheric, terrestrial and human consumables) along with the associated issues concerning these domains.

Microplastics in aquatic environments

Marine systems.

Microplastic pollution is considered as a serious issue in the marine environment (Ma et al. 2016 ). These micro-sized polymers are widely distributed in world’s oceans and seas, ranging from Atlantic to Pacific Ocean and from Caribbean to Mediterranean Sea (Law et al. 2010 ). Recently, MPs have also been discovered in Arctic sea ice, the Antarctic, remote mountain ranges and deep ocean trenches (Waller et al. 2017 ; Peeken et al. 2018 ; Jamieson et al. 2019 ; Allen et al. 2019 ). The distribution of MPs is quite versatile in the global marine systems, and their presence has been seen prominently in the benthic, pelagic and shoreline sections of these environments (Wagner et al. 2014 ; Barletta et al. 2019 ). Approximately 80% of the marine plastic debris originate from inland sources and are majorly transported to the oceans through rivers (Mani et al. 2016 ). The contamination of marine environments with MPs is dependent on several factors of natural and anthropogenic origin. Natural ones include wind currents, coastline geology, etc., while anthropogenic ones comprise mismanaged plastic debris releases, unregulated industrial discharges, etc. (Barnes et al. 2009 ). These MPs are capable of escaping even the water treatment plant processes (Fok et al. 2017 ). Furthermore, MPs can be transported via inland streams to estuaries and the marine environment (Lechner et al. 2014 ; Rech et al. 2020 ). In a study by Selvam et al. ( 2020a ), Punnakayal estuary situated in the south-east coast of India was found to be contaminated with up to 19.9 MPs per L, indicating the capability of this estuary for MP channelization from inland sources to the Gulf of Mannar. In another study by Manickavasagam et al. ( 2020 ), the transport of plastic debris from densely populated areas to seas via South Juhu creek was estimated. The study revealed that a major proportion of transported plastic debris comprised macroplastic and megaplastics, which undergoes fragmentation during their course and ultimately converts into MPs, which is an important issue to be addressed. With this ongoing scenario of plastic debris mismanagement, it has been predicted that by the year 2050, there will be a greater number of MPs in our oceans than the total number of fishes (World Economic Forum 2016 ).

The global contribution of different geographical areas with respect to marine MP debris (majorly primary MPs) was analysed by Ajith et al. ( 2020 ), revealing a 15.9% contribution by Southeast Asia, 17.2% by North America and 8.7% by Africa and Middle East. Numerous expeditions have been carried out by researchers for estimating the abundance of MPs in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Southern Ocean and other marine regions; however, the Indian Ocean has been relatively less focussed and less explored (Ajith et al. 2020 ). Investigations of marine MPs are gradually pacing up in India, and as per the present survey, the number of studies is higher for sediments in comparison to the water and biota counterpart. Table 1 shows the summary of MP studies conducted in the marine system of India comprising sediments and surface water. In addition to the abundance of MPs found in each of these matrices, studies reporting the presence of some other contaminants (conducted by the same author or different authors) at the same sites have also been mentioned. This has been done because MPs have a great potential to adsorb a variety of contaminants due to their large surface area-to-volume ratio; hence, incorporation of these studies will aid in understanding the plausible risks associated with these MPs and pollutants in the same compartment (Browne et al. 2013 ; Brennecke et al. 2016 ). The next three sub-sections critically analyse the literature published for MP pollution in marine environments of India, and it has been broadly categorized into MP occurrence in marine sediments, marine waters and marine organisms.

Marine sediments

The accumulation of MPs in the benthic layers, particularly the sediments, starts occurring when their density exceeds that of seawater (> 1020 kg/m 3 ); otherwise, they float on the surface (Cauwenberghe et al. 2015 ). Sediments are known to act as the long-term sinks of MPs because floating particles are easier to remove as compared to those present in the sediments (Lima et al. 2014 ). MPs have been widely reported in the marine sediments of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Pondicherry, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. The preliminary study on MP contamination in marine environments of India was initiated by Reddy et al. ( 2006 ), in which they analysed the intertidal sediments at a ship-breaking yard in Gujarat. The characterization of MPs using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed that nylon, polyester, polyurethane and polystyrene were the major polymers in the sediments, which are generally used in the construction of ships.

Beaches are an important reservoir of highly fragmented plastic debris and can transport these MPs to coastal waters (Fok et al. 2017 ). MPs in these beaches arise due to different natural and anthropogenic sources. Anthropogenic sources include fishing, tourism, recreational, religious, port and industrial activities, mismanaged plastic waste and untreated wastewater discharges while natural sources include surface and wind currents, aeolian processes, run-off and riverine transport (Jayasiri et al. 2013b ; Balasubramaniam and Phillott 2016 ; Veerasingam et al. 2016b ; Karthik et al. 2018 ; Vidyasakar et al. 2018 , 2020 ; Tiwari et al. 2019 ; Maharana et al. 2020 ; Robin et al. 2020 ). A significant majority of MPs found in these studies are irregularly shaped fragments. These studies further suggest that the intensity of natural and anthropogenic activities determines the MP abundance in a particular area. For instance, MPs studied across the six beaches in Puducherry showed a significant correlation with the rate of tourism activities (Dowarah and Devipriya 2019 ). Likewise, in another study by Karthik et al. ( 2018 ), 25 beaches of the south coast (Tamil Nadu) were analysed and it was found that beaches adjacent to the rivers had higher MP abundance, suggesting majority of these particles were transported by rivers from land-based sources.

Due to the easy accessibility and sampling, sandy beaches have been the main focus of researchers for identifying the abundance of MPs in marine environments of India. Based on the literature review for MP sampling in Indian beaches, it is observed that variable sampling procedures were used by different researchers. Sampling was done using forceps, non-plastic spoon, spatula, tweezers or shovel from quadrants of various sizes like 25 × 25 cm 2 , 30 × 30 cm 2 , 50 × 50 cm 2 , 1 × 1 m 2 and 2 × 2 m 2 (Jayasiri et al. 2013a ; Veerasingam et al. 2016a , b ; Dowarah and Devipriya 2019 ; Sathish et al. 2019 , 2020c ; Ashwini and Varghese 2019 ; Jeyasanta et al. 2020b ; Sundar et al. 2020 ; Maharana et al. 2020 ; Robin et al. 2020 ). Collection of deep sea sediment samples was preferably done using a vessel and specialized equipment including the Van Veen grab sampler, the Peterson grab sampler and a box corer (Sruthy and Ramasamy 2017 ; Goswami et al. 2020 ; Jeyasanta et al. 2020a ; James et al. 2020 ; Patterson et al. 2020 ). After sediment collection using the grab sampler, sieving was also done for some sites to separate samples in different size ranges like 0.5 mm, 3 mm, 1 mm and 5 mm (James et al. 2020 ; Patchaiyappan et al. 2020a ). For extraction of MPs, wet peroxide oxidation and density separation were the most preferably used methods. In some studies, prior to density separation, treatment with acids like hydrochloric acid was also given in order to remove the carbonates (Vidyasakar et al. 2020 ). For density separation, sodium chloride (NaCl) was found to be the most commonly used salt whereas zinc bromide (ZnBr 2 ), zinc chloride (ZnCl 2 ), sodium iodide (NaI), calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) and sodium bromide (NaBr) were preferred for the separation of heavier polymers (Tiwari et al. 2019 ; Sathish et al. 2019 ; Patterson et al. 2019 , 2020 ). After treatment, supernatant solution was subjected to filtration and sorting and isolation of MPs was carried out under a microscope. Identification of MPs was preferably done using Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy while other techniques like fluorescence microscopy using Nile red dye (Patchaiyappan et al. 2020a ) and Raman spectroscopy (Dowarah and Devipriya 2019 ) were also used. Present variations in the sampling and analytical procedures for MPs could lead to a significant bias in the overall output as indicated by Müller et al. ( 2020 ). In this study, it was found that MP analysis using different procedures can lead to large variances in the overall results for the same dataset. This biasness would cause difficulties in comparison of MP abundance and distribution data in global environmental matrices, as the present scenario of MP research in Indian environments is already restricted to certain regions; hence, adoption of such variable analytical protocols would lead to limitations in the data comparability and applicability. This issue demands that the concerned stakeholders take necessary steps to standardize the MP sampling and analytical procedures at the national as well as global level, so that the creation of MP database for these environmental matrices is harmonized.

Marine waters

Low-density MPs are reported to be the predominant versions of plastic particles in the surface layers of the marine waters (Derraik 2002 ), and the attachment of fouling organisms to these MPs may lead to their sinking in the benthic layers (Browne et al. 2010 ). In contrast, high-density MPs including PVC, PEST and PA are found in the benthic layers (Barnes et al. 2009 ); however, due to the variations in hydrodynamic conditions (flow rate, tidal fronts, etc.), these particles can sometimes remain in the suspension as well (Browne et al. 2010 ).

MP samples in Indian marine waters were collected using different techniques comprising manual collection in glass bottles (Sathish et al. 2020c ; Ganesan et al. 2019 ) or using a boat equipped with various types of nets such as manta trawl net, neuston net and plankton net of different mesh sizes (Patterson et al. 2019 , 2020 ; Goswami et al. 2020 ; Sathish et al. 2020b ; Jeyasanta et al. 2020a ; James et al. 2020 ; Robin et al. 2020 ) or using a Teflon pump and subsequent filtration through stainless steel sieves (Selvam et al. 2020a ). After collection, samples were either refrigerated or additional preservation was done by adding 4–5% formalin (James et al. 2020 ; Selvam et al. 2020a ) or 5% formaldehyde solution (Sathish et al. 2020b ; Patterson et al. 2019 ). Further processing of the collected samples for the separation of MPs was carried out using wet peroxide oxidation followed by density separation or density separation alone. As mentioned in the previous section, the variations adopted in MP sampling and analytical procedures in the present dataset can also lead to inconsistencies. Thus, it is important to prioritize standardized MP sampling and analysis protocols in order to avoid any discrepancies and have more significant and uniform database for marine waters also.

The choice of selected locations by the researchers and limited explorations of Indian marine environments are insufficient to identify the role of this country in global marine MP pollution. Due to the ease of sampling, beaches have been the main focus of researchers whereas water column has gained comparatively lesser attention. A portion of southern coastline has been extensively studied while the rest of the regions have remained untouched. Hence, the current scenario depicts that the research explorations in India are non-uniform and require a much greater number of studies to fill in the gap areas for better understanding of the MP pollution in marine domain in India.

Marine organisms

A huge amount of population in India is dependent on the coastal and marine ecosystems and their resources (Kumar et al. 2018 ). Despite this fact, the marine ecosystem is under constant threat due to various anthropogenic activities. Among the different threats that marine organisms are facing, MPs are emerging as a new and relatively less studied threat. The present understanding of MP prevalence in the marine biota suggests that a significant proportion of organisms are at risk of ingesting these synthetic polymers which can lead to variable levels of health complications. Studies have found that due to the increasing exposure to MPs, marine biota can experience oxidative stress, reduction in filtration capacity, inflammation in tissues, impaired digestive tract, pseudo-satiation and reduced immunity (Dowarah et al. 2020 ; Maharana et al. 2020 ; Daniel et al. 2020 ; Sathish et al. 2020b ). In India, studies on ingestion of MPs by fishes have been a major attraction for the researchers. In fishes, MPs have been found in the range 0.05 to 10.65 items per individual while the range of MPs found in marine waters is 0.93 to 126.6 × 10 3 items/m 3 . In recent investigations on impact of MPs in a marine fish ( Carassius carassius ), it was found that ingestion of MPs in the range of 15 to 76 items per individual for the exposure duration of 6 weeks could lead to a decrease in weight, disruptions in the buccal cavity, inflammations and microgranulomas in the liver (Jabeen et al. 2018 ; Wang et al. 2020a ), while based on abundance in their habitat, a concentration of 100 items/L for the exposure duration of 96 h could lead to reductions in predatory performance and overall efficiency in Pomatoschistus microps (Carlos de Sá et al. 2015 ; Wang et al. 2020a ). Also, from the literature, it can be concluded that these types of studies were more prevalent in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India. Table 2 shows the summary of MP occurrence in Indian marine biota.

According to the current research studies, the sampling protocols for assessment of MPs in marine organisms generally involve either direct capture using fishing nets or purchase of samples from the market and immediate storage in ice boxes until further analysis in the laboratory. Analysis was primarily carried out by dissecting the organism followed by direct visual observations under a microscope, or the dissected contents were further digested using aqueous or alcoholic potassium hydroxide (KOH), nitric acid (HNO 3 ) or hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). MPs were then finally isolated from these samples and subjected to microscopic observations and characterization for confirmation of the plastic nature and polymer. In India, majority of studies have been conducted to find the prevalence of MPs in marine organisms. We could find only one study in the literature by Goswami et al. ( 2020 ) who have done extended research on trophic transfer and bioaccumulation of MPs. Since MPs pose a serious threat to animals and human health due to ingestion of these compounds by marine biota followed by bioaccumulation and biomagnification through food chain, more extensive research is required in this domain for better understanding of the risks associated with MP ingestion by marine biota.

Freshwater systems

Microplastic pollution has been identified as a pervasive and damaging environmental stressor in the world’s ocean, but still only a small body of research has been conducted on freshwater MPs, despite the fact that freshwater is a source for drinking water. Though research in this domain is gradually progressing all over the world, unfortunately, this domain has not gained enough attention in India according to the literature reviewed (Sruthy and Ramasamy 2017 ; Sarkar et al. 2019 ; Ganesan et al. 2019 ; Gopinath et al. 2020 ; Manikanda Bharath et al. 2020 ; NPC 2020 ; Amrutha and Warrier 2020 ; Ram and Kumar 2020 ; Selvam et al. 2020a ). This calls for the urge to assess the MP contamination in freshwater systems of India. A detailed study on freshwater ecosystems will help the researchers to gain an insight on the sources, fate and associated toxicity of these MPs in these environments.

MP studies in Indian freshwater systems have focussed primarily on the surface water and sediment sections of lakes and rivers. Groundwater samples have also been analysed but with a relatively less fraction of studies in comparison to the lakes and rivers. These studies are summarized in Table 3 . In addition to MP abundance, other contaminants/pollutants reported by the same author or different authors at these respective sampling sites have also been mentioned as discussed earlier for marine systems. Based on the MP prevalence trends in Indian freshwater systems, the following three sub-sections discuss the scenario of MP pollution in Indian lakes, rivers and groundwater.

Lakes are the major resources of freshwater as they hold about 90% of the world’s fresh surface water (Bengtsson and Herschy 2012 ), but due to increased human interventions, these resources are facing a direct load of heavy metals, eutrophication and many other types of pollution. MPs, an emergent contaminant, are appearing as a relatively new type of pollution in these water bodies. The presence of MPs in Indian lakes was recently explored, and a major source of these synthetic polymers was identified as the fragmentation of macroplastic debris (Sruthy and Ramasamy 2017 ; Ganesan et al. 2019 ; Gopinath et al. 2020 ; Manikanda Bharath et al. 2020 ). Other responsible factors could be leakage of primary MPs from personal care products or industries, riverine transport of MPs, run-off activities due to rainfall and dry deposition. MP investigations in Indian lakes were conducted in sediments and surface water sections. For surface waters, sample collection was generally conducted using glass bottles (grab sampling), nylon plankton nets (20 µm mesh size) or plankton nets (120 µm mesh size) (Ganesan et al. 2019 ; Gopinath et al. 2020 ; Manikanda Bharath et al. 2020 ), while for sediment samples, the Van Veen grab was preferred (Sruthy and Ramasamy 2017 ; Gopinath et al. 2020 ; Manikanda Bharath et al. 2020 ). For MP extraction, standard protocols of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were generally preferred; however, Ganesan et al. ( 2019 ) analysed the samples by direct filtration without any pre-treatment followed by visual observations under the microscope for MP identification.

Approximately 80% of the total plastic debris in the marine environments are coming from terrestrial sources which are known to be transported by rivers (Wagner et al. 2014 ). In a recent study by Napper et al. ( 2021 ), approximately 1–3 billion of MPs are estimated to be daily discharged into the Bay of Bengal by the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. However, MPs found in the rivers do not reach oceans as a whole but some pieces get accumulated in their sediments, which can act as an important sink of MPs (Sruthy and Ramasamy 2017 ; He et al. 2020 ). River water pollution is a global problem, and being home to around 20 river basins (Central Water Commission 2019 ), a majority of basins in India are victim to different types of pollution like heavy metals, pesticides, POPs and other harmful biological and chemical compounds. Inefficient waste management practices are further leading to the discharge of plastic wastes in these rivers particularly MPs. Sources of MPs in Indian rivers primarily comprise fragmentation of macroplastic debris items like plastic packaging materials, ropes, fishing nets, wrappers, pipes and synthetic textiles. Furthermore, variations in the hydrodynamic and climatic factors like wave height, flow velocity and wind speed facilitate channelization of these synthetic polymers to different sections of the water column (Sarkar et al. 2019 ; NPC 2020 ; Amrutha and Warrier 2020 ; Ram and Kumar 2020 ). Studies conducted on contamination of Indian rivers with MPs have analysed the surface water and sediment layers. Sample collection from surface waters was preferred using stainless steel bucket and sieves or neuston nets (300 µm mesh size), while for sediments, stainless steel spoon or scoop was preferred. Extraction of MPs from the collected samples was then done using wet peroxide oxidation method or density separation or both. Depending on the load of organic matter in the collected sample, preference to wet peroxide oxidation is given because its primary aim is to digest the labile organic matter for easy separation and identification of MPs (Amrutha and Warrier 2020 ).

Groundwater

Globally, water resources are facing a high risk of contamination with MP pollutants. However, for occurrence of MPs in groundwater of India, only two studies could be found in the present literature survey (Ganesan et al. 2019 ; Selvam et al. 2020a ). Tourism-dominated activities, industrial and domestic effluent discharges, fragmentation of mismanaged plastic debris and riverine leaching are some of the major reasons of MP contamination in the groundwater across India as per the present analysis. Groundwater samples tested for MP contamination followed different methodologies of collection and processing. In the study conducted by Ganesan et al. ( 2019 ), samples were directly collected in the glass bottles and MP isolation was performed by filtration of the samples in the laboratory. Observation of MPs collected on the filter was then done using an optical microscope. While in another study by Selvam et al. ( 2020a ), sample collection was preferred using a Teflon pump followed by on-site filtration through stainless steel sieves (50 µm mesh size). Further processing and extraction of MPs was conducted using wet peroxide oxidation method and subsequent filtration of this oxidized solution. Filters were then analysed under a stereomicroscope for MP presence and identification. In the same study, adsorption capacities of PP, PVC, PA, CE and PE were tested against the heavy metals Mn, As, Cd, Zn, Cr, Cu and Pb. It was found that MPs comprising of PP and PE polymers could adsorb significant quantities of metals even in trace concentrations, depicting a situation of severe risk if these MPs are ingested by any of the aquatic or terrestrial biota (Selvam et al. 2020a ).

Microplastics in atmosphere

Air is one of the most important requirements of living beings to survive and exist. Out of the many pollutants present in the atmosphere, airborne MPs have recently emerged as contaminants of concern. MPs in the air are able to enter directly in the human body and pose significant risk to human health (Gasperi et al. 2018 ; Prata 2018 ). Early studies concerning airborne MPs were reported by Dris et al. ( 2016 ) in Paris and it was found that MP fibres can become airborne, after their disintegration from its source. The major source of MPs in air remains synthetic textiles (Dris et al. 2016 ) while gradual releases from landfills, streets and incomplete incineration of garbage is also important to be considered (Liu et al. 2019 ). Several experiments were conducted to check airborne MP–associated risks to human health. For instance, Vianello et al. ( 2019 ) used a breathing thermal manikin (BTM) to study the effect of indoor air exposure (24-h duration) on humans and found that an average human can inhale up to 272 MP particles from indoor air within 24 h. Inhalation of airborne fibres is much more prevalent in comparison to other shapes (Wang et al. 2020b ; Narmadha et al. 2020 ). Prata ( 2018 ) in her study has made a very good review on health implications to humans due to airborne MPs. The author has reported that the workers associated with textile industries (which are a major source of fibrous MPs) are known to suffer from various ailments including dyspnea, interstitial inflammations in their airway and respiratory failure in extreme cases due to this exposure (Prata 2018 ).

India being one of the most polluted cities with respect to air pollution is also at high risk of airborne MP contamination. In a recent report by IQAir ( 2020 ), 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world were present in India, particularly in terms of PM 2.5 (particulate matter less than 25 µm in size). MPs in conjunction with other pollutants present in the Indian atmosphere can lead to various health complications, but due to the significant lack of research in this domain, the severity of situation is unclear. During the present literature survey, two studies reporting the presence of MPs in Indian atmosphere (Narmadha et al. 2020 ; Wang et al. 2020b ) were located in the databases. A summary of these studies is presented in Table 4 . These studies have reported synthetic textiles to be the major source of MP fibres in the sampling locations while the presence of fragments, films and spheres has been linked with releases from fragmentation and disintegration of macroplastic debris. The transport of MPs due to the aeolian processes can play an important role in the contamination of terrestrial and aquatic environments. Understanding the importance of a healthy atmosphere in our lives, it becomes very important to do regressive research about MP prevalence, transport and fate in this domain. The number of studies conducted in India is very limited to justify the problem of atmospheric MP and thus require scientist’s and researcher’s interventions.

Microplastics in terrestrial systems

With increased consumption of plastic items in our daily lives, their ageing and subsequent fragmentation leads to leaching of MPs in our terrestrial systems. The sources of these MPs can include mismanaged plastic waste, tyre wear and tear, fragmentation of construction and building materials, or aeolian transport of MPs from widespread sources (Patchaiyappan et al. 2020b ). A summary of MPs detected in Indian terrestrial systems is shown in Table 5 . The dust samples in these studies were collected from outdoor (Patchaiyappan et al. 2020b ) and indoor (Zhang et al. 2020 ) systems, and significant abundance of MPs was found, indicating the ubiquitous reach of these particles. According to the study conducted by Zhang et al. ( 2020 ), the estimated ingestion of MPs originating from the dust samples in different age groups (adults, teenagers, toddlers and infants) is 770–10,000 ng/kg bw/day (PET-based MPs) and 0.88–11.00 ng/kg bw/day (PC-based MPs). Furthermore, it has also been indicated that human exposure to MP particles via this route is much more extensive in comparison to the consumable items. For instance, mussel consumption can cause an annual plastic consumption of 123 particles per capita and sea salt consumption can lead to ingestion of 0–36,135 MP particles per capita, but exposure to dust in homes can lead to a huge exposure of 13,731–68,415 particles per capita as suggested in some recent studies (Zhang et al. 2020 ; Peixoto et al. 2019 ; Catarino et al. 2018 ). Apart from this, in another study by Maity et al. ( 2020 ), the impacts of MP exposure were evaluated in a common terrestrial plant, i.e. Allium cepa (onion). This study has revealed cytogenotoxic impacts in A. cepa due to polystyrene MPs, indicating that the presence of MPs in our terrestrial environments has the potential to harm plant species as well as aquatic species, as discussed earlier. Presently, MPs are invading virtually every part of our environment but the extent of research conducted in India to evaluate the situation in terrestrial environments is very limited. It is important to scale up the research investigations in this area so that the current scenario can be better understood and necessary actions to manage this problem could be adopted at the earliest possible.

Microplastics in human consumables

Contamination of hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere with MPs is now a well-established fact, but the extent of research interventions in these segments with reference to India is still a long way to go. The organisms inhabiting these systems are capable of consuming MPs, and their further interaction with humans imposes a significant risk of MP exposure to humans through ingestion or inhalation. The presence of MPs has recently been reported in various human consumables, viz. seafood, salt, drinking water and tap water in India, and this has attracted researcher’s attention towards MP pollution. However, the types of samples collected for MP analysis varied from study to study like, for salt sample, direct collection from the salt pans was done in one study (Selvam et al. 2020b ) while majority of other researchers preferred purchasing commercial salt samples from the market or salt manufacturing unit (Sathish et al. 2020a ; Sivagami et al. 2020 ; Seth and Shrivastav 2020). Sea food sampling involved a collection of organisms directly from their natural habitats (Daniel et al. 2021 , 2020 ; Dowarah et al. 2020 ). On the other hand, for drinking water analysis, packaged bottles were procured from the markets.

Due to the extensive usage of plastics in food packaging industry, the expanse of MPs is gradually dominating in human consumable items. The contamination of sources from where these consumable items are being extracted is also emerging as a cause of concern as it may affect the MP abundance in these items. For instance, in a recent study by Nithin et al. ( 2021 ), it has been suggested that manufacturing of consumable items like table salts from groundwater instead of seawater could lead to lesser MP contamination. In the present review, 11 studies have been found discussing the contamination and risk of exposure to humans by consumption of the items contaminated with MPs (Table 6 ). The risk of exposure was calculated by using the average dietary intake of that particular item and the amount of MPs present in the item. In a study by Sivagami et al. ( 2020 ), the harming potential of the MP particles to human embryonic kidney cells have been analysed and extreme conditions like cell death of the exposed cells have been observed. This particular behaviour of cell detachment and apoptosis was observed after exposure of 24 h. In another study by Sharma et al. ( 2020 ), the toxic effects of MP behaviour were evaluated in terms of cancer risk to human beings. The researchers have reported that the potential of MPs to adsorb a variety of pollutants can aid in aggravated health issues, if such MPs are ingested. For this particular study, when MPs were interacted with carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), maximum adsorption of PAHs was achieved within 45 min of interaction and the cancer risk estimated was found to be significantly higher for PAH-adsorbed MPs. The number of studies discussing the impact of MP ingestion or inhalation in humans in India is very limited; therefore, in order to better understand the health complications associated with these synthetic polymers, it becomes very important to scale up the MP research in this domain.

Conclusions and recommendations

India being one of the major producers of plastic waste is gradually pacing up its research in microplastics. At present, the role of India in global MP pollution is not well understood. This study is an effort to identify the gaps and knowledge about MP pollution in different compartments of Indian environment. The database is found to have 64 studies, which is a very small number in comparison to the widespread reach of MP particles. A major portion of MP studies in this dataset has focussed on the marine environments, majorly the south-east coast with the highest number of studies done in the state of Tamil Nadu. Also, sediment portion has been more researched upon for MP contamination within the marine systems. In case of freshwater systems, the river section comprises the highest number of studies in comparison to the lakes and groundwater counterpart. However, the complete understanding of sources, pathways and fate of MPs in these aquatic systems needs to be addressed by the research community. On the other hand, atmosphere and terrestrial systems comprised merely two studies each, which is an insufficient number to understand the extent of MP pollution in these domains for the entire country.

Contamination of different environmental compartments with MPs has widened their expanse to human consumable items as their origin is linked to these matrices. Salt, drinking water, tap water and seafood are the only items that have been looked upon for MP contamination in India while worldwide MPs are being detected in a wide range of food and beverage items. The toxicity associated with these MPs has not been extensively focussed, and at present, the situation of MP prevalence in Indian food and beverage items is not very clear. The exploration of mechanisms involved in MP-associated toxicity to humans as well as other organisms is a very important aspect to be looked upon, considering the role of plastic items in our day-to-day lives. In addition to this, it is also very important to explore the capability of MPs to interact with other pollutants present in the Indian environments and the enhanced health impacts they might impose to the interacting biota after ingestion or inhalation.

With the increasing demand and production of plastics, MP contamination will continue to rise and may therefore cause serious damage to our environment. It is very important in the present times to scale up the research investigations at both the laboratory and field scales, with equal focus on each and every component of different environmental matrices comprising marine systems, freshwater systems, terrestrial systems, atmosphere, human consumables and associated toxicities. Furthermore, innovations should also be directed to develop suitable techniques for the removal of these MPs from these matrices. The present review has focussed on the important aspects of MP contamination in different segments of Indian environments, and each section has been discussed with the significant knowledge inputs and lag areas. Future scope and recommendations have also been suggested to cover the gaps in knowledge which will provide directions for future studies and improve the scope of MP research in India (Fig.  3 ).

Gap areas in the microplastic research in Indian environments that need immediate attention

Data availability

The datasets analysed during the current study are cited in the reference list with their respective digital object identifier (DOI) wherever possible.

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This study was funded by Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) under Faculty Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) and University Grants Commission under Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

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All the authors’ have contributed in the conceptualization and designing of this article. Literature search and data analysis were performed by Ms. Mansi Vaid and Ms. Komal Mehra. The first draft of the manuscript was prepared by Ms. Mansi Vaid and Ms. Komal Mehra. Critical analysis and revision of the work were done by Dr. Anshu Gupta.

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Vaid, M., Mehra, K. & Gupta, A. Microplastics as contaminants in Indian environment: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28 , 68025–68052 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16827-6

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Received : 27 April 2021

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16827-6

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