Environmentally friendly recycling and disposal of e-waste, Phase I

active

Population growth, increasing prosperity, changing consumer habits and illegal imports are leading to ever-increasing amounts of electrical and electronic waste (hereinafter referred to as e-waste) in Ghana. This e-waste is currently mainly processed by the informal sector, but sometimes using recycling and disposal practices that are extremely harmful to the environment and health (e.g. burning electrical cables). Due to the described working methods, which are carried out without regard to health and the environment (cost externalization), environmentally, health and socially acceptable recycling and disposal is more expensive and is currently not competitive compared to the environmentally and health-damaging practices of the informal sector. The aim of the FC project is therefore to ensure that harmful e-waste fractions from the informal sector are disposed of or recycled properly and to contribute to the design of a national recycling system for e-waste. The target group includes people who work in the informal collection and recycling of recyclable materials, especially electronic waste, in urban centers in Ghana and use this to secure their daily income. Another target group are private companies in the recycling and disposal industry in Ghana. The innovative project will be implemented in two phases, with the implementation of the second phase largely dependent on the success of the approach in the first phase.