Electronic waste control and management in Ghana: A critical assessment of the law, perceptions and practices

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of Ghana’s hazardous and e-waste control and management Act 917 of 2016 on current e-waste management practices and the level of awareness among key stakeholders (general public, repairers, wholesalers/retailers, recyclers and importers of electronic items) in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and examined in this study. Results showed a low level (12%) of awareness among stakeholders on the e-waste legislation. Almost 13% of respondents had been educated on e-waste management. Community engagement and the mass media were the main sources of information on e-waste. Significant associations between background information of respondents and awareness level on ‘Ghana’s Act 917’ were observed. Relative to general e-waste issues, only education and stakeholder showed significant associations with e-waste legislation and management. The main e-waste disposal methods adopted by respondents were disposal at dumpsites (22.7%), repair and reuse (21.1%) and reselling (20.1%). Almost 10% of respondents made changes to their e-waste disposal practices over the past 5 years. These changes were mainly due to the economic benefits derived from reselling e-waste (37.6%) and the perceived adverse impacts of e-waste on the environment (23.9%). Overall, there is the need to intensify awareness on ‘Ghana’s Act 917’, especially issues regarding sustainable e-waste management practices.

E-Waste Management in Rwanda: A Situational and Capacity Need Assessment

“…Figure 9 shows how e-wastes are kept in informal repairing stores, followed by the dumpsites representing 24.9%. Contrary to the previous research conducted in Ghana [8], no one in this study responded that e-waste is burned.…”

“…With regard to the main health effect, chronic diseases were found to be the major concern (21.6%). These findings are consistent with a previous study conducted in Ghana [8]). In order to know how e-waste management and e-waste recycling in Rwanda can be fostered, results from respondents showed that e-waste recycling, costs, lack of infrastructure, and absence of recycling possibilities are the main obstacles, whereas for proper e-waste management in Rwanda, the following points should be kept in consideration: (i) e-waste collectors should pay for collection; (ii) standards should be prepared regarding e-waste management; (iii) campaigns should be made to increase awareness: physical meetings, media, and/or messages to mobile phones; (iv) technical schools should contribute to e-waste management; (v) ICT students should be trained: ICT students, as people who will work in the sector, should be taught an e-waste management module; and (vi) used electronics should be donated to social programs.…”

“…Figure e-wastes are kept in informal repairing stores, followed by the dumpsites 24.9%. Contrary to the previous research conducted in Ghana [8], no one responded that e-waste is burned. Apart from Enviroserve, we found a startup called Wastezon 2.0 owned by a company known as Wastezon Ltd., which only repairs electronic equipment.…”

“…Mor et al [6] cited the relevance of e-waste management methods for environmental sustainability while investigating people's empirical studies conducted in India. Dzah et al [7] assessed the perception and practices of e-waste management among commercial consumers in Ho, Ghana, and [8] proposed the material flow analysis as a method to collect data during a short period in the informal e-waste recycling environment in Ghana.…”

Sustainable considerations in additive manufacturing processes: A review

“…In Nigeria, the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has constituted a task force in cooperation with other agencies such as Nigeria Customs to stop the illegal dumping of WEEE [22,23]. In Ghana, e-waste legislation was constituted in 2016 to provide a framework to control, manage and properly dispose of e-waste to curb environmental and health-related issues brought about by its inadequate disposal methods [24]. The Indian government has established the extended producer responsibility concept that works by assigning mandatory responsibility to all related stakeholders to develop sustainable collection methods, create environmental awareness programs and develop material recovery systems [25].…”