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THE Fourth Industrial Revolution promises a dazzling future: hyper-connected cities, intelligent automation, ubiquitous sensors and AI-driven efficiency. For Bangladesh, embracing these technologies is not merely aspirational; it is considered essential for economic leapfrogging, enhanced governance and improved quality of life for millions. Yet, as we rush headlong into this digital utopia, a toxic shadow grows exponentially beneath our feet — a catastrophic and critically overlooked tsunami of electronic waste. To ignore this crisis while chasing 4IR dreams is akin to constructing a glittering skyscraper on quicksand. The time for innovative, state-of-the-art solutions is not tomorrow; it is now.

In the age of AI and intelligent devices, smartphones, laptops, and Internet-of-Things gadgets are designed with increasingly shorter life cycles, fuelled by relentless software updates and aggressive marketing. What was once a five-to-seven-year lifespan for a device is rapidly shrinking to two or three years. When your smartphone or laptop begins to malfunction after two years, your first impulse is often to discard it and buy a new one. But do you ever stop to ask: where does your discarded electronic device go? This mounting industrial e-waste is not just vast in quantity, it is complex in composition.

4IR demands ubiquitous connectivity. Beyond personal electronics, this involves billions of embedded sensors, wearables, smart home devices, industrial controllers and vast network infrastructure — all of which will eventually become scrap. Bangladesh’s booming mobile and electronics market, driven by affordable imports and rising incomes, has put more devices into more hands than ever before. This democratisation of technology is undoubtedly a positive step. However, without a coherent disposal strategy, it risks becoming an environmental and public health time bomb. The ongoing transition to 5G, cloud computing and AI will require the replacement of enormous volumes of telecom equipment and data centre infrastructure, thereby compounding the crisis.

While e-waste is a global issue, Bangladesh faces a uniquely dangerous convergence of conditions that could transform this challenge into a full-fledged humanitarian disaster. Current estimates suggest that the country generates over 400,000 metric tonnes of e-waste annually, with projections showing a near doubling by 2030. Dhaka alone contributes an estimated 3,000 tonnes every single day — far exceeding the capacity of any existing management or recycling system. Over 90 per cent of this waste is processed by approximately one million informal workers, often operating in hazardous urban enclaves. Using crude methods such as open-air burning to retrieve metals, acid baths to extract gold and manual dismantling without protection, these workers — many of them children — expose themselves and their communities to a toxic cocktail: lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants, arsenic and dioxins. This is not recycling; it is slow, systematic poisoning.

The environmental fallout is severe. These toxins leach into the soil and waterways, including the already polluted Buriganga River, contaminating food chains and groundwater. The long-term ecological impact is colossal and largely unquantified. Informal workers suffer disproportionately, facing respiratory illness, skin disease, neurological disorders, cancers and reproductive complications. Bangladesh, already on the front lines of climate change, is especially vulnerable to the cascading consequences of unmanaged e-waste. Flooding events can disperse toxic materials into vast agricultural zones and aquatic ecosystems, magnifying contamination. Rising temperatures may increase the volatility of hazardous compounds, intensifying the danger.

Although Bangladesh has enacted hazardous waste and e-waste management regulations, enforcement remains grossly inadequate. Weak institutional capacity, unclear agency responsibilities, lack of infrastructure and minimal funding cripple existing efforts. Extended Producer ResponsibilityÌý — the principle that manufacturers should be financially accountable for managing their products post-use — exists in theory but rarely in practice.

Ironically, discarded electronics represent not only an environmental hazard but also a valuable opportunity. The so-called ‘urban mine’ contains significant quantities of precious and rare materials such as gold, silver, copper and rare earth elements — often in concentrations higher than those found in natural ores. Yet the informal sector recovers only a fraction, with the rest either lost or turned into toxins. This represents not only an environmental failure but also a considerable economic loss.

Bangladesh has the potential to become a regional leader in Urban Mining 4.0 by employing cutting-edge technologies — AI-powered sorting robots, sensor-based separation systems, and advanced hydrometallurgical processes — to recover valuable resources safely and efficiently. In doing so, the country could build a profitable, environmentally sound circular economy centred around sustainable electronics.

Moreover, in a world where data is currency, the careless disposal of devices like phones, hard drives and servers poses an alarming cybersecurity risk. Without secure, formal recycling systems, sensitive data belonging to individuals, companies and government entities could be compromised. Data protection must be treated as a national security imperative and safe disposal must be central to digital governance strategies.

Meanwhile, the proliferation of cheap IoT devices — indispensable to smart cities, precision agriculture and industrial automation — will generate vast amounts of small, intricate and often non-recyclable waste. These challenges must be addressed at the design level. Devices must be built with longevity, repairability and ease of disassembly in mind. Digital tracking systems, possibly based on blockchain, can help monitor the lifecycle of each device, ensuring compliance with EPR and preventing diversion into unsafe informal channels.

What Bangladesh needs is not incremental reform but a comprehensive, future-facing strategy. First, collection must be made simple and attractive. Reverse vending machines, retail take-back schemes and community collection points should be established nationwide. These must feed directly into safe, formal processing centres. Small-scale, semi-automated modular recycling units can be deployed near existing informal hubs, making use of safer methods such as hydrometallurgy or bioleaching. Informal workers must be integrated into these new systems through cooperatives, provided with protective gear, fair wages, training and healthcare.

At the macro level, Bangladesh must invest in large-scale, centralised recycling plants equipped with AI sorting, robotic disassembly and green smelting technologies. Special economic zones can offer incentives for companies that focus on sustainable electronics, component refurbishment and remanufacturing. Academic and engineering institutions must spearhead the development of locally appropriate, affordable recycling technologies — particularly for new, complex components emerging from 4IR innovation.

Public education is crucial. Media campaigns, influencer engagement and community outreach should focus on the health risks of informal recycling and the economic value of proper e-waste management. Repair culture must be revitalised, and consumer perceptions shifted: e-waste must no longer be seen as garbage but recognised as a vital urban resource.

Critically, Extended Producer Responsibility must be made mandatory, enforceable, and financially binding. Manufacturers and importers must face clear collection and recycling targets. Digital platforms can aid in monitoring and enforcing compliance. Simultaneously, tax incentives should be introduced for companies designing products that are durable, upgradable, and easy to recycle.

Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. The promise of 4IR is immense, but so too is the peril of unchecked e-waste. If we continue on our current path, we risk transforming our cities into toxic wastelands and our people into victims of our own technological ambition. The mountains of discarded devices growing in our backyards are not just unsightly; they represent a grave public health emergency and a squandered economic opportunity.

This crisis calls for a bold, nationally coordinated ‘moonshot’ approach. It requires integrating the informal sector as part of the solution, not the problem. It demands that manufacturers shoulder real responsibility and that consumers adopt more sustainable habits. Above all, it requires urgent investment in forward-looking, locally adapted recycling technologies and robust governance.

The choice before us is stark. Will Bangladesh’s 4IR journey be remembered as a leap into a sustainable, prosperous future — or as the age that buried our progress beneath mountains of toxic debris? The tools exist. The knowledge exists. What remains is the political will and public urgency. We must act now to ensure that our digital dawn is not darkened by an ecological dusk. Our future, quite literally, depends on it.

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Nayeem Shahriar is a PhD researcher at the University of Dhaka