Socio-economic assessment and feasibility study on - Öko-Institut eV

18
August 2010
<strong>Socio</strong>-<strong>economic</strong> <strong>assessment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>feasibility</strong> <strong>study</strong>
on sustainable e-waste management in Ghana
Figure 1 Map of Accra showing the areas of data collection for the socio-<strong>economic</strong> <strong>assessment</strong>
In total, 70 interviews were conducted to generate information on socio-<strong>economic</strong> impacts of
the refurbishing <strong>and</strong> e-waste recycling sector in Ghana. The interviews with collectors
(scavengers) <strong>and</strong> recyclers were conducted primarily at the Agbogbloshie metal scrap yard,
a major hotspot for e-waste activities in Accra. The interviews with refurbishers were
conducted at various locations (places indicated in figure 1) in Accra as these businesses are
not located at a central place, but rather scattered all over the city of Accra.
Additionally, interviews with local experts, as for instance EPA Ghana, Accra Metropolitan
Assembly (AMA), the Repairers Association (GESTA) <strong>and</strong> president of the Agbogbloshie
Scrap Dealers Association, were carried out to complete, validate <strong>and</strong> cross-check the primary
data. Especially, data quality was cross-checked <strong>and</strong> improved by Mr. Michael Anane,
journalist <strong>and</strong> pioneer in the field of assessing <strong>and</strong> reporting social <strong>and</strong> environmental
impacts of e-waste activities in Ghana.
The product scope was kept in line with the product scope of the component 3 of the SBC E-
Waste Africa project, i.e. socio-<strong>economic</strong> <strong>assessment</strong> of the e-waste sector in Nigeria. This
was done to ensure a comparative analysis of two major hotspots of e-waste activities in
West Africa. The project scope for the <strong>study</strong> was defined to include the following e-waste
categories: