(Eco)toxicity of e-waste: current methods, challenges, and research priorities

The rapid growth in manufacturing and use of electrical and electronic equipment has led to unprecedented volumes of poorly managed e-waste, posing serious ecological risks. Although data on individual chemical substances in e-waste are available, evidence of ecotoxicity from actual e-waste materials remains scattered. This review consolidates organism-level ecotoxicity data on real e-waste samples (mixed fractions, fragments, leachates) and samples collected near e-waste facilities (soil, sediments, dust, water) across aquatic and terrestrial environments. It critically examines how methodological approaches influence reported outcomes and outlines research priorities. In aquatic environments, toxic responses vary with increased amounts of toxicants (dissolved metals, particles from dismantling operations) that mobilise to surface waters, while hydrophobic organic compounds cause sublethal behavioural and genotoxic effects. The few studies on terrestrial environments show impaired invertebrate growth and reproduction, along with changes in soil and “plastisphere” microbiota. However, tested concentrations, material complexity, and incomplete reporting of exposure chemistry, among other factors, limit the environmental relevance and comparability of the data. Uniformised procedures, combined with thorough chemical characterisation, environmentally realistic conditions, and cross-system bioassays (including different exposure routes and cumulative assessments), may provide mechanistic insights into e-waste toxicity, supporting evidence-based risk management strategies while contributing towards the development and validation of robust new approach methodologies (NAMs).