Recent developments and perspective of the spent waste printed circuit boards

The amount of spent electronic and electrical solid wastes (i.e. e-wastes) has increased to a new level with the rapid development of electronic and electrical industries. Management of e-wastes challenges the administrators and researchers. As a major component of the e-waste stream, pollution caused by the spent printed circuit boards has captured increasing attention. Various innovative methods have recently been developed to dispose and reuse these municipal spent printed circuit boards. In this mini-review article, the disposal approaches for spent printed circuit boards are highlighted. The present state and future perspective are also discussed. We hope that this mini-review can promote the extensive understanding and effective disposal of the spent printed circuit boards in the field of solid waste treatment and resources.