With the increasing accumulation of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs), the inadequate treatment of their non-metallic components has become a critical environmental concern. In this study, novel photocatalytic materials were synthesized by incorporating ZIF-8 with titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and graphene oxide (GO) to form ternary GO/ZIF-8/TiO₂ photocatalysts, which were subsequently immobilized onto glass fiber bundles (GfB) recovered from WPCBs. The structural and physicochemical properties of the composites were systematically characterized, and the results demonstrated that GfB/GO/ZIF-8/TiO₂ exhibited superior photocatalytic performance for methylene blue (MB) degradation. More than 97% of MB was removed within 2 h of UV irradiation, with reaction rates 6.1 and 1.9 times higher than those of pristine TiO₂ and ZIF-8, respectively. The enhanced activity can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of ZIF-8, GO, and TiO₂. The waste-derived glass fiber bundles serve as a macroscopic support to immobilize the catalyst and facilitate practical handing and recovery. This study provides an effective “waste-treating-waste” strategy by valorizing non-metallic WPCB fractions into efficient photocatalysts, thereby advancing dye wastewater treatment and contributing to sustainable waste management and circular economy practices.

The rapid expansion of the global consumer electronics market, coupled with shorter product replacement cycles, has rendered the recycling management and resource utilization of waste small home appliances (WSHA) a pressing issue for environmental governance and the circular economy. This study employs a comparative policy analysis to systematically examine the policy evolution, institutional design, and implementation mechanisms for WSHA recycling management in the EU, Japan, the USA, and China. The analysis focuses on legal responsibility arrangements, funding mechanisms, recycling system structures, and policy coverage. Furthermore, two representative small appliances—coffee makers and induction cookers—were selected for market analysis, manual disassembly, and component characterization to assess their material composition and resource recovery potential. The results indicate that the EU and Japan have established efficient recycling systems based on extended producer responsibility (EPR) and multi-stakeholder collaboration. In contrast, China faces challenges, including policy implementation gaps, inadequate regulatory coordination, and low recycling rates. Based on these findings, the study proposes targeted recommendations for enhancing institutional frameworks, technical standards, and public participation, offering insights for improving China's WSHA recycling management system.

In recent years, the disposal of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) has emerged as an increasingly serious issue, particularly concerning the non-metallic powder generated during metal recovery, which poses a significant challenge to the utilization of e-waste resources. Furthermore, numerous technical defects are associated with this process. A systematic method is presented for preparing glass fiber ball bundles (GfBs), which incorporate a variety of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to create GfB/MIL-125 (Ti), GfB/MIL-100 (Fe), GfB/Bi₂MoO₆, and GfB/Bi₂MoO₆/MIL-100 (Fe) process systems. This approach aims to increase the efficiency of recycling glass fibers from the non-metallic powders of WPCBs. This study aims to investigate the photocatalytic degradation performance of composite materials comprising glass fibers loaded with MOFs, specifically GfB/MIL-100(Fe), GfB/Bi₂MoO₆, and GfB/Bi₂MoO₆/MIL-100(Fe), on model wastewater containing the organic compound methylene blue (MB). These findings indicate that the composites exhibited high photocatalytic efficiency and good reusability. The synthesized MOF composites achieved photocatalytic degradation of 100 mL of a 50 mg/L MB solution, reaching up to 96% degradation in 3 h, with a residual removal rate of 85% after 5 cycles. This study provides novel insights into the recycling of non-metallic materials from waste circuit boards and the development of environmentally friendly photocatalysts.