Assessment of the recycling potential of waste printed circuit boards (WPCB) and waste plastic housings (WPH) of electronic waste materials in Ghana’s environment

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the content of some risk elements, including those imposed by RoHs restrictions, in printed circuit boards (PrCBs) and plastic housing (PH) of some common e-waste materials in the Ghanaian environment and determine their potential for recycling. Forty- seven printed circuit boards (PCBs) and twenty-four plastic housings (PHs) of different electrical and electronic equipment were collected from individuals, e-waste recycling sites, and workshops in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The samples were analyzed for thirty-three (33) risk elements which included Ag, As, B, Ba, Cd, Cu, Mo, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn. Results showed that all the risk elements analysed were present in almost all the samples except Be, P, Se, which were below the detection limit of <0.01 in all the WPCB and As, Se, Sb, and Sn, in some WPH. The average concentration of Cu and Pb in all the boards exceeded the limit of TTLC and RoHS regulatory limits, respectively. With respect to the WPH, only a few recorded Se and Sb levels above the TTLC limit.  All the waste materials with one or more elements exceeding any of the two limits are considered hazardous waste and need to be managed by the mandatory hazardous waste handling protocol