The Mismanagement of E-waste Governance and its Impacts on Environment and Wildlife: A Global Perspective

The rapid pace of technological development has resulted in an unprecedented increase in electronic waste generation worldwide, raising urgent concerns about governance, regulation, and environmental sustainability. The consequences of inadequate electronic waste management are alarming, as they lead to environmental degradation, pollution, and associated health hazards. E-waste poses risks to animals through entrapment, ingestion, and inhalation of toxic substances, frequently resulting in physical injury, illness, or mortality. When electronic devices containing hazardous substances are disposed of in landfills or incinerated, they create significant pollution, which disrupts the equilibrium of the ecosystem. The ingestion of these harmful chemicals by birds and marine animals can result in serious internal health issues, digestive complications, and even mortality. This paper examines the current e-waste management framework in India and contrasts it with regulatory approaches in selected developed and developing countries, including the European Union, the United States, China, Japan, and Brazil. The study highlights critical challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited public awareness, and the dominance of the informal recycling sector in developing economies, alongside contrasting models of extended producer responsibility and consumer accountability in advanced jurisdictions. By adopting a comparative legal and institutional perspective, this paper underscores how differences in enforcement capacity, policy design, and societal participation shape the effectiveness of e-waste governance. The findings suggest that a hybrid model integrating the strengths of developed country frameworks with the realities of the Global South—can provide more inclusive and sustainable solutions. This manuscript is significant for the scientific community as it addresses the pressing challenge of e-waste governance through a comparative lens, highlighting regulatory gaps and enforcement hurdles often overlooked in prior literature. By juxtaposing diverse governance models, it offers insights into designing hybrid frameworks that can strengthen policy effectiveness in the Global South. These findings contribute to ongoing academic debate while providing practical relevance for policymakers and practitioners working toward sustainable e-waste management.