Electronic waste e waste is one of the fastestgrowing pollution problems worldwide given the presence if a variety of toxic substances which can contaminate the environment and threaten human health, if disposal protocols are not meticulously managed. The only scientifically produced report on ewaste in ghana published in 2011 found that 171,000 tons of ewaste reaches the countrys informal recycling sector, adding that the amount of material that reaches the formal recycling sector accounted only for 0. To help obtain this data on a regional basis, selected households in each region were recruited to obtain data on rate of waste generation, physical composition of waste, sorting and separation efficiency and per capita of waste. How to tackle the challenges posed by ewaste china al. Assessing the challenges affecting solid waste management. Ghana is the first country in africa to launch official guidelines for sustainable e waste recycling management, said mr. Assessing the challenges affecting solid waste management system in the kumasi metropolis abstract in every aspect of human life, several unwanted materials are generated and these materials are discarded simply because they are considered waste. Young children there make a living by scavenging waste to reclaim gold, silver, iron, and copper. The burning truth behind an e waste dump in africa ending the toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in ghana will take more than curbing western waste.
Annual global ewaste management gem network meeting, july 15. Waste management in tema ghana introduction tema is a coastal city, situated about 25km east of accra, it has a land area of 368. In ghana, the global problem of ewaste has local consequences. The damaging effects of e waste on ghanaian children masahudu ankiilu kunateh, ghanadot accra, april 19, ghanadot the united nations environmental programme estimates that 2050million tones of electronic wastes e wastes are discarded each year throughout the world, whilst 70% of these products end up in poor countries including, ghana. Regulations on the import and endoflife management of refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners 21 6. Ghana annually imports around 215,000 tons of secondhand consumer electronics from abroad, primarily from western europe, and generates another 129,000 tons of ewaste every year. We focus on young people, high school pupils and university students as well as young entrepreneurs. In 1994, the site was a small area for people fleeing violence in the north of the country. The toxic effects of electronic waste in accra, ghana. The children that work on this e waste dumpsite burn computers in order to extract any valuable metals that might fall to the ground.
Notwithstanding the efforts by city authorities to remediate the problem, it still remains a monumental challenge and an elusive enterprise. Mathias schluep program director of the world resources forum and lead coordinator of the international sri programme. Government policy and initiatives on e waste in ghana by. Definition by unep guidelines for e waste management in uganda 6. The latest place where we have discovered high tech toxic trash causing horrendous pollution is in ghana. Agbogbloshie, a former fertile wetland in ghana, is now one of the worlds largest ewaste dumping site. A systemic approach to the regulation of ewaste smart. While plenty of recyclers run reputable operations, the shadowy companies just ship obsolete e waste to digital dumping grounds in countries like ghana. Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices.
Waste management has become one of the biggest challenges confronting developing countries, including ghana. Ideally, such endprocessing operations are able to combine efficient material. Electronic waste e waste is one of the fastest growing segments of our nations waste stream. Ghana, the worlds fastest growing economy, has a trash.
List of electronics companies and services in ghana. And that is because, ewaste from almost every part of the world finds its way into the country, potentially poisoning its land and underground water sources with a cocktail of heavy metal chemicals such as cadmium, lead, barium, mercury. With a team of young and skilled professionals, waste landfills provides solutions downstream of the waste management value chain. In this manual, weee and e waste are used as synonyms, and include all the 10.
Proper solid waste management swm has become one critical environmental challenge faced by cities in ghana due to its externalities. The two organizations decided to find a simple technological solution. Oct 17, 2016 ghana has been cited as the country with the biggest ewaste dumping site in the world. E waste republic is a web documentary by jacopo ottaviani developed with the support of the innovation in development reporting grant program of the european journalism centre ejc, funded by the bill and melinda gates foundation. Pdf electronic waste management in ghana issues and. Millennium cities initiative the university of ghana, legon. Ghana has been in the news for its informal treatment of e waste and related adverse effects on humans and the environment since a decade. Electronic waste, e waste, e sc rap, or waste electrical and electronic equipment w.
Nearly 42 million tons of ewaste everything from microwaves and electric shavers to washing. Ewaste and the environment the case for electronics recycling legislation white paper goodwill industries international, inc. Global and local implications 8 weee or e waste is often misunderstood as comprising only computers and related it equipment. Ghanas way towards sustainable ewaste recycling first. Liquid waste, radioactive waste, and e waste are important aspect s of the overall waste burden. Ghana parliament finally passes ewaste law ghana business news. Streets and waterways in accra, and other urban areas in ghana are regularly inundated with singleuse plastics such as shopping bags, pure water plastic bags, plastic takeaway food boxes, and watersoda bottles. E waste is a term encompassing various forms of electrical and electronic equipment that are old or endoflife electric or electronic appliance that have ceased to be of any value to their owners. Waste infrastructure has failed to keep up with ghana s economic growth, leaving its capital accra drowning in plastic trash. The global ewaste monitor united nations university. Ghana to set up ewaste recycling plant ghana business news. Ghana is the worlds fastest growing economy, with a government set on attracting investment and tourism. Reliable national data on waste generation and composition that will inform effective planning on waste management in ghana is absent.
The hazardous and electronic waste control and management bill 21 6. Dec 12, 2015 in ghana, the global problem of ewaste has local consequences. Domestic waste management strategies in accra, ghana and. Our analysis of samples taken from two electronic waste e waste scrap yards in ghana has revealed severe contamination with hazardous chemicals. Waste landfill company is an integrated waste management company that provides transfer, disposal and recycling services. This study focuses on agbogbloshie, a scrap metal yard in accra. Major cities in ghana are battling with waste management problem such as tons of uncontrolled rubbish. Tackling ewaste management in ghana world resources forum. The question, he argues, is whether secondhand electronics are being exported to ghana as e waste or to supply a demand for cheap electronics that can help the country bridge the digital divide. Legal and institutional requirements in ghana 7 levy will be fed into an electronic waste recycling fund that is aimed to provide finance for the management of electronic waste and reduce the adverse impact of electronic waste on human health and the environment. In general, ewaste describes old, endoflife electronic and electrical. According to the oecd, e waste is any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its endof life. Analysis of improper disposal of solid wastes in a lowincome. There is little hard evidence to measure how much e waste is dumped either globally or at agbogbloshie.
Frontline profiled an e waste dump in ghana that explored the health risks of these practices. In order to manage waste, the environmental protection agency epa and the solid waste act favor an integrated solid waste. Electronics ghana list of ghana electronics companies. Furthermore, the ewaste management market generated volume of 51. Ghanas mobile subscriber, 2009 and has a penetration rate of over 50%. The ewaste processing sites in ghana exemplifies the challenges africa policy makers face with respect to ewaste and its impacts on health and the environment.
Electronic waste dumpsite photographs and text by renee c. Poisoning the poor electronic waste in ghana greenpeace. Nine years after the first journalistic work on e waste dumping in ghana was published in the daily graphic june 2007, the parliament of ghana has passed the law to regulate e waste this week. Agbogbloshie, ghana, is tied to e waste dumping in the collective imagination. Sorting through used electronics is a livelihood for many in the agbogbloshie. This amount, in 2009, represented 280,000 metric tons of ewaste that entered ghana, of which only 1% were processed through a formal facility. Apr 27, 2017 20170427 director of waste management at the accra metropolitan assembly ama, anthony mensah, speaking on eezy fms morning edition in accra disclosed that the city of accra generates. Pdf electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices. Albeit some interventions have been undertaken to reduce the e waste burning in ghana, one of such that stands tall is the one by the green advocacy ghana and the pure earth, formerly blacksmith institute usa. This narrative began with an international media report in 2008 by national geographic.
In ghana, the increasing quantities of e waste have creaavenueted where the. Jul 08, 2016 the first ever story on ewaste in ghana. About 500 container loads of electronic waste arrive every month, often disguised as development aid or secondhand products. Ewaste management in developing countries with a focus. Ghana believe that local problems need to be solved by local people. The urban solid waste management conundrum in ghana. Ghana was one of the first african countries to get connected to the internet in 19891990. Sorting through used electronics is a livelihood for many in the agbogbloshie area, but toxic e waste poses serious health risks. Aug 04, 2008 our analysis of samples taken from two electronic waste e waste scrap yards in ghana has revealed severe contamination with hazardous chemicals. Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices 159 an emerging dynamic in the collection of e waste is the increasing spatial extent that collectors have to explore. Environmental and health impacts of informal ewaste.
Electrical and electronic waste ewaste is currently the fastest growing waste stream. We believe that these changemakers will create a more sustainable future for ghana and beyond. This paper looks at the magnitude ewaste trade in ghana by analyzing the growing trade in. Pdf working conditions and environmental exposures among. The project is set to convert into renewable energy andor compost or reconstituted by. Rtd visits the countrys most infamous dumping ground. It encompasses all broken, unusable, or outdatedobsolete electronic devices, components, and materials. E waste describes electrical and electronic equipment or parts of it that have been discarded by the owner without any intention of reuse. Government policy and initiatives on ewaste in ghana by. British electronic waste is being exported to poor african nations where it threatens the environment and human health. May 16, 2011 uk e waste illegally dumped in ghana ecologist. Increased population growth and rapid urbanisation have resulted in increased generation of volumes of waste in our cities. Nov 18, 2010 blue sphere corporation, an emission reduction project integrator, has signed a memorandum of understanding to implement an alternative waste treatment project, with a renewable energy component, in accra, ghana.
The damaging effects of ewaste on ghanaian children. In almost all cases, e waste is not a local product, but originates from developed countries, says labunska, the harbor of accra receives 600 to 1,000 containers every month, adds ananes. Managing the environmental and regulatory challenges 2 because of the complexities of identifying, handling and disposing of e waste, companies may choose to work with experts that can help develop and manage effective risk management e waste strategies. Waste to energy memorandum of understanding in ghana waste. The direct charging for use of public waste collection dumps and waste collection centres in urban areas of ghana was introduced with the emergence of structural adjustment programmes in ghana in the 1980s. Market survey waste and circular economy in ghana rvo. Aug 05, 2008 the latest place where we have discovered high tech toxic trash causing horrendous pollution is in ghana. Municipal solid waste management in accra, ghana, is at present delivered in an unsustainable manner. Ewaste management, disposal and its impacts on the. Agbogbloshie is a nickname of a commercial district on the korle lagoon of the odaw river, near the center of accra, ghana s capital city. E 3 4 describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Near the slum called old fadama, the agbogbloshie site became known as a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap collected from mostly the western world.
The burning truth behind an ewaste dump in africa smithsonian. University of ghana the agbogbloshie e waste site is located in the central business district of accra, ghana. Do whatever you want with a pdf electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices. In addition, e waste also encompasses items that can be e cycled electronics that are going to be reused, resold, salvaged, or recycled. The rich worlds electronic waste, dumped in ghana citylab.
Germany supports ewaste disposal in ghana africa dw. There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its intended purpose. Street view next to the agbogbloshie ewaste dumpsite in accra, may 2019. Ewaste, or waste electrical and electronic equipment, is an emerging and. Fillable online pdf electronic waste management in ghana. The durban declaration on e waste management in africa the main issues related to an improvement of the current e waste management practices encountered on the african continent and elsewhere were synthesized in the durban declaration on e waste management in africa during the wastecon2008 in durban, south africa. Due to uncontrolled urbanisation, large quantities of waste are generated daily in accra, and. E waste, the term given to discarded electronic appliances, is often shipped by developed nations to poorer countries such as ghana.
Legislations used to regulate e waste recycling in absence of a specific e waste bill 23 6. Accra generates 3,000 metric tonnes of waste in a day. We want to have a creative mind, a critical eye, and a helping hand if we are to find solutions to e waste challenges. Annual global e waste management gem network meeting, july 15. Frontline segment on global e waste dumping called ghana the e waste capitol of africa, and. What used to be the pristine waters of the korle lagoon in the city of accra, ghana, west africa, is now an electronics dumpsite that is so toxic that neither fish nor worms can survive. Nearly 42 million tons of e waste everything from microwaves and electric shavers to washing. Report on findings of the waste composition study for the aryee diki electoral area of accra new town, accra prepared by the millennium cities initiative mci, a project of the earth institute, columbia university and the university of ghana, legon for submission to the accra metropolitan assembly authors. This paper looks at the magnitude ewaste trade in ghana by analyzing the growing trade in electronic products ostensibly to bridge the digital divide. Electronic waste policies university of washington. Jan, 2016 the burning truth behind an e waste dump in africa ending the toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in ghana will take more than curbing western waste. Electronic devices are essential to business operations.
Uk ewaste illegally dumped in ghana environment the guardian. The german government has unveiled a plan to help ghana deal with electronic waste at agbogbloshie, a major dumping site outside of the capital. Since the late 1990s, industrial countries have been sending their ewaste here. Energy ministry of power, accra ghana accra international conference centre 3rd nov. Municipal solid waste characterization and quantification as. This amount, in 2009, represented 280,000 metric tons of e waste that entered ghana, of which only 1% were processed through a formal facility. The hazardous and electronic waste control management bill 2016 was drafted in 2012 and after some. Agbogbloshies e waste area covers almost a square kilometre strewn with a wide variety of electronics and smoking fires of burning waste. However, for most internet users, public venues mainly internet cafes and telecenters are the primary source of access. Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices 153 however, larry summers, a former economist of the world bank in 1991, reportedly justifies the economic sense of the exportation of e waste to developing countries. This survey aims to collect detailed data on e waste management, policies and standards. Municipal wastesthe trash from commercial establishments and small industries such tins, plastic products, and polythene bagsalso loom large as factors in accras waste problem. But residents of its biggest city, from taxi drivers to academics, are.
Waste act of 1990, which set a goal of diverting 25% of new mexicos municipal solid waste from landfills by 1995 and 50% by july 1, 2000. Electronic waste risk assessment and management in ghana assess the environmental risk associated with e waste collection, recycling and disposal in ghana make recommendations to improve e waste management in ghana 2. Status of regulatory initiatives on e waste in ghana 21 6. Electronic waste policies 6 e waste is a growing problem, bhutta, m. Computer recycling west africa style click bbc news youtube.
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