Nexus between E-waste and Food: Environmental, Safety and Sustainability Challenges
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Food".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 2922
Special Issue Editors
Interests: supply chain management; logistics; operations research; decision theory; forecasting techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: business process analysis; sustainable supply chains; probability and statistics; machine learning; applied artificial intelligence; fuzzy systems; forecasting and operations research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: industrial fermentation; industrial microbiology; biofuels; beverage alcohols; distilled spirits; beer; life cycle assessment; efficiencies; technoeconomic analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Environmental and social problems are complex, involving multiple and often conflicting objectives. As a result, most solutions fail to reflect this complexity and end up following a reductionist approach. A well-defined problem might help alleviate the burden this complexity brings while also allowing the generation of more realistic, applicable, and repeatable solutions.
Electronic waste is becoming an increasingly significant environmental issue, with the volume of discarded electronics growing rapidly year after year. This has raised concerns about the impact of electronic waste on the environment, public health, and the economy. While there is no direct link between electronic waste and food, the effects of electronic waste on the environment can have indirect impacts on food production, safety, and supply chains.
One of the primary concerns related to electronic waste is its impact on soil quality. Electronic waste can contain a range of hazardous materials, including heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. When electronic waste is improperly disposed of, these materials can leach into the soil, potentially contaminating crops and livestock. The accumulation of heavy metals in soil can also affect soil fertility, leading to reduced crop yields.
E-waste can also have indirect impacts on food safety. Many electronic devices contain a variety of chemicals that can pose health risks when they enter the environment. These chemicals can accumulate in the food chain, potentially leading to health problems for both animals and humans.
Electronic waste disposal also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, which can lead to changes in climate patterns with significant potential impacts on food production, leading to food stress in some regions.
In addition, the cost of dealing with electronic waste is significant, with estimates suggesting that it costs billions of dollars each year to manage electronic waste properly. These costs are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for electronic devices.
In sum, the proper management of electronic waste is critical to mitigate these risks and ensure a sustainable future for all.
With this motivation, this volume focuses on the issue from a holistic point of view and aims at investigating the relationship between food and electronic waste cycles.
Studies focusing on creating an organizational, social, financial culture, framed by shared values and beliefs, that consider environmental and social well-being as part of their decision making and analysis process will be considered.
Prof. Dr. Elif Kongar
Dr. Gazi Murat Duman
Dr. Kurt A. Rosentrater
Dr. Askiner Gungor
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- electronic waste
- e-waste
- sustainability
- social and environmental governance
- food safety
- food security
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
