Electrical and electronic waste (E-waste) production are not only increasing enormously every day but also continue to pollute water and soil which are very essential elements to assert life completely and crucial to sustainable development and prosperity. With the emergence of information and communication technology (ICT), people are excited to explore emerging innovations, contributing robust demand for and the use of today’s electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Due to the lack of a precise management and disposal approach, the expired EEE are rapidly discarded as E-waste in mass and dumped in an inapt landfill or stowed where large soil areas are available, such as near industries, institutions, etc. In addition, the majority of those areas are near to the water table and other watercourses. These induce soil and water to be unsuitable for different purposes due to harmful toxic metals. Consequently, they are leading harsh health and environmental problems in developing countries and to some extent in developed countries. This review paper compiles E-waste categories and their effects, as well as soil and water contamination processes, and also advocates viable remediation technology.

The mining industry is a significant asset to the development of countries. Ghana, Africa’s second-largest gold producer, has benefited from gold mining as the sector generates about 90% of the country’s total exports. Just like all industries, mining is associated with benefits and risks to indigenes and the host environment. Small-scale miners are mostly accused in Ghana of being environmentally disruptive, due to their modes of operations. As a result, this paper seeks to assess the environmental impacts of large-scale gold mining with the Nzema Mines in Ellembelle as a case study. The study employs a double-phase mixed-method approach—a case study approach, consisting of site visitation, key informant interviews, questionnaires, and literature reviews, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis method. The NDVI analysis shows that agricultural land reduced by −0.98%, while the bare area increases by 5.21% between the 2008 and 2015 periods. Our results show that forest reserves and bare area were reduced by −4.99% and −29%, respectively, while residential areas increased by 28.17% between 2015 and 2020. Vegetation, land, air, and water quality are highly threatened by large-scale mining in the area. Weak enforcement of mining policies, ineffective stakeholder institution collaborations, and limited community participation in decision-making processes were also noticed during the study. The authors conclude by giving recommendations to help enhance sustainable mining and ensure environmental sustainability in the district and beyond.

The discharge of antibiotic residues into aquatic environments promotes antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Conventional wastewater treatment is ineffective at removing these persistent micropollutants, necessitating the use of advanced strategies. This review critically assesses the efficacy of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), adsorption, membrane separation, and advanced biological treatments for antibiotic removal from pharmaceutical wastewater. While techniques like photocatalysis and ozonation achieve high degradation rates (>90%) in controlled settings, significant challenges, including energy consumption, catalyst management, toxic byproduct formation, and economic feasibility, hinder their scalability. Findings indicate that successful demonstrations remain confined mainly to synthetic wastewater in laboratory studies. This review identifies a gap between lab research and real-world use. We conclude that overcoming this barrier requires a dedicated focus on developing hybrid treatment systems. This review therefore recommends prioritizing the development of scalable, cost-effective solutions validated with complex, real-world wastewater to mitigate the environmental and public health risks posed by antibiotic pollution.