Processes and challenges associated with informal electronic waste recycling at Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a worldwide problem in terms of increasing production rate in the global waste stream. Its recycling is known to be associated with adverse health outcomes. The recycling site at Agbogbloshie is a major e-waste recycling hub which presents enormous health threats to the residents in this community as a result of exposure to complex mixtures of chemicals associated with the poor work methods employed. This paper describes the processes involved in e-waste recycling at Agbogbloshie and discusses some of the associated health and psychosocial challenges. Direct field observations and in-depth interviews of eight e-waste workers were conducted from November, 2017 to December, 2017. Results from a thematic analysis of the data gathered; suggest that inappropriate recycling methods, financial constraints, and the high physical demands of e-waste recycling work were associated with adverse musculoskeletal health conditions among the workers. A more systematic ergonomic study is currently being undertaken to quantify the associations between physical work exposures and worker musculoskeletal health among e-waste workers in Agbogbloshie. Further studies that focus on locally adapted ergonomic interventions for effective recycling of e-waste and reducing the health risk to workers are needed.

Musculoskeletal Disorder Symptoms among Workers at an Informal Electronic-Waste Recycling Site in Agbogbloshie, Ghana

“…E-waste recycling work performed at Agbogbloshie is unregulated and informal (i.e., without any formal organizational structure, work procedures) with the primary goal of recovering re-usable parts, isolating precious metals and other scrap material for sale [ 22 , 23 ]. Workers at the site engage in multiple manual tasks, though depending on the primary work tasks performed they broadly fall into three categories, collectors, dismantlers, and burners [ 22 , 24 ]. E-waste collectors typically travel offsite within the nearby communities by foot or bicycle to search, purchase, and collect e-waste items, and transport these back to the worksite [ 22 , 25 ].…”

“…Workers at the site engage in multiple manual tasks, though depending on the primary work tasks performed they broadly fall into three categories, collectors, dismantlers, and burners [ 22 , 24 ]. E-waste collectors typically travel offsite within the nearby communities by foot or bicycle to search, purchase, and collect e-waste items, and transport these back to the worksite [ 22 , 25 ]. Dismantlers manually disassemble irreparable and/or non-functional e-waste items using their bare hands and rudimentary tools such as a chisel, hammer, and pliers to salvage reusable components [ 22 ].…”

“…E-waste collectors typically travel offsite within the nearby communities by foot or bicycle to search, purchase, and collect e-waste items, and transport these back to the worksite [ 22 , 25 ]. Dismantlers manually disassemble irreparable and/or non-functional e-waste items using their bare hands and rudimentary tools such as a chisel, hammer, and pliers to salvage reusable components [ 22 ]. Burners perform open burning of e-waste items, including insulated electrical cables, automotive wire harnesses, and other components that cannot be further dissembled in order to isolate valuable metals (e.g., gold, copper, iron, and aluminium).…”

“…E-waste workers at this site are low skilled, mostly migrants and farmers from the northern part of Ghana that travel south in search of work [ 26 , 27 ]. They have little education or awareness of occupational health and safety such as the use of personal protective equipment (PPE; e.g., gloves, safety shoes, safety glasses, dust masks) or ergonomics, nor the means to buy PPE or professional work-tools [ 22 , 26 ]. E-waste workers at Agbogbloshie are among the poorest and most vulnerable members of the urban populations in Ghana [ 23 , 28 ].…”

“…Informal e-waste recycling is manual and labour-intensive [ 3 ]. It involves long durations of sitting, standing, walking, sitting in a low squatting posture, with frequent and heavy manual material handling (MMH) in non-neutral postures (e.g., lifting, carrying, pushing-pulling) [ 22 , 25 ]. The equipment used for transporting (e.g., hand-drawn carts, wheelbarrows), dismantling (e.g., hammers, chisels, pliers), and burning (i.e., long metal rods for handling burning items) is simple and worn out [ 22 ].…”