# E-Waste Plastics in the Environment: Assessment, Characterisation, and Bioprocessing
## 1 Introduction
However, as we move towards more sustainable economic models, and as advances are made in recycling technologies, the economic incentive for more comprehensive e-plastic recycling strategies increases. These strategies would contribute to a reduction in the environmental impact of plastics both for the end of life and the raw material exploration stages of their life cycle through the conversion of waste materials into a feedstock for the production of new materials, thus helping to decrease the environmental footprint of the rapidly growing electronic equipment industries [13]. While recent reviews have discussed potential strategies for the valorisation and recycling of e-waste plastics [14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19] and the environmental impact of e-waste microplastics [20; 21], a comprehensive and more integrative analysis of the chemical characterisation and impact of e-waste microplastics, as well as of the biotechnological advances in their bioprocessing/remediation, remains lacking. For example, [PERSON] et al. [17] and [PERSON] et al. [15] provide insights into general e-waste plastic treatment strategies, while [PERSON] [20] and [PERSON] et al. [21] focus on the environmental presence and impacts of e-waste plastics. However, these studies do not comprehensively discuss the interplay between environmental contamination by e-waste plastics, the chemical characterisation of such contaminants, and the potential of recent biotechnological advances for remediation. This review addresses this gap by providing an in-depth overview of the chemical characterisation and environmental impact of e-waste (micro)plastics and additives, and the latest developments in sustainable bio-based technologies for e-plastic treatment. It is focused exclusively on studies conducted with e-waste plastics/e-plastic samples. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first integrative review covering all of the issues mentioned above. From Sources to the Environment: Chemical Characterisation of E-Waste (Micro)Plastics and Their Additives  
Given that electronic equipment fulfils a variety of purposes, different types of materials (and, specifically, plastics) may be used in their architecture. Common forms of e-waste include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, polystyrene, high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), polyphenylene oxide, among others [22], often containing additives to improve their physicochemical properties and function (such as flame retardants and stabilisers). Table 1 shows the polymers identified, their abundance, and the analytical techniques used for their characterisation in recent e-waste literature. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l l l l l} \hline \hline
**Location** & \begin{tabular}{l} **Identified Polymers, Copolymers, and** \\ **Resins** \\ \end{tabular}  & \begin{tabular}{l} **Physiochemical** \\ **Characteristics** \\ \end{tabular}  & **Reported Abundance** & **Analytical Techniques** & **Reference** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{l} Plastic recycling plant \\ (Halluin, France) \\ \end{tabular}  } & \multirow{4}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{l} Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, \\ polystyrene \\ \end{tabular}  } & \multirow{4}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{l} Plastic scrap particles \\ between 2 and 4 mm in \\ thickness \\ Weight ranging from 35.13 g \\ to 261 g \\ Colour: white (63.9\%), grey \\ (33.3\%), and blue (2.8\%) \\ \end{tabular}  } & \multirow{4}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{l} Raman Spectroscopy \\ \end{tabular}  } & \multirow{4}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{l} [23] \\ \end{tabular}  } \\  & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{l} Former e-waste \\ disassembly sites, \\ farmlands, fruit orchards, \\ and waste dumping sites \\ (Guiyu, PR China) \\ \end{tabular}  } & \multirow{4}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{l} Polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl \\ alcohol, polyphenyline sulphide, \\ polyethylene, \\ polyethylene teme terephthalate, polyvinyl \\ chloride, cellophane \\ \end{tabular}  } & \