Ghana report gives e-waste numbers
By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling
Ghana has released its e-Waste Country Assessment , which analyzes the role of electronic scrap in the country as part of the first two components of the Secretariat of the Basel Convention e-Waste Africa Project.
The study focused on importers, distributors, assemblers, consumers, collectors, repairers, dismantlers and processors of electronics is several sample areas, with data then extrapolated to get a better idea of material processing trends throughout the country. For 2009, the findings show that 215,000 tons of electronics were imported into Ghana – 70 percent of which were used items. Of that 70 percent, 15 percent were determined to be unsellable and/or unusable. An additional 20 percent of the used electronics entering the country are repaired or refurbished.
While the report concluded that the majority of electronics imported into the country "give Ghanians the possibility to benefit from [electronics] in their everyday life… second-hand products have a shorter lifespan compared to new products," which leads to higher e-waste generation per year. The report says that the actual amount of e-waste entering the country is relatively small, but the informal recycling sector does a disproportionate amount of harm to the environmental and human health of Ghanians. Recommendations from the report include suggesting further development for a legal framework for electronics importation and responsible processing.