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

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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
emphasized the value of sending remittances to their families on a regular basis as a result
of employment in e-waste recycling sector. Many workers also mentioned the possibility of
setting up their own small businesses after a few years of work.
According to COHRE (2004), there are at least four different socio-<strong>economic</strong> reasons behind
the establishment <strong>and</strong> growth of Agbogbloshie:
� Migration from the north, as an outcome of tribal conflict <strong>and</strong> chronic food insecurity.
� Social downward movement in accommodation by those forced out of more expensive
accommodation in Accra. This is due to the financial impact of the Structural Adjustment
Programme that was initiated in the early 1980s.
� Spill-over of population associated with the size <strong>and</strong> growth of the adjacent market.
� Dem<strong>and</strong> for l<strong>and</strong> by those seeking <strong>economic</strong> <strong>and</strong> business opportunities in an area free
from the bureaucratic constraints <strong>and</strong> high rentals that exist in the recognised formal
market.
Similarly, dem<strong>and</strong> for low-skilled workers in the refurbishing sector has also led to
considerable employment opportunities for a large section of the society.
3.4 Impacts on society
3.4.1 Unjustifiable risks
The e-waste recycling industry in Ghana is not under the suspicion of directly generating
unjustifiable risks for the whole Ghanaian society. Nevertheless, severe pollution from the
current practices in material recovery <strong>and</strong> disposal is a significant long term risk that cannot
be justified solely by <strong>economic</strong> development indicators. Especially, quantifiable
externalities/external costs related to health hazards, premature mortality <strong>and</strong> environmental
damage inflicted by improper e-waste recycling practices have not yet been sufficiently
researched. This is especially the case for the major e-waste recycling centres like the
Agbogbloshie scrap yard, which account for exorbitantly high concentrations of air <strong>and</strong> water
pollutants <strong>and</strong> contaminated soils, both outdoor <strong>and</strong> indoors. Taking into account that
burning of cables, wires <strong>and</strong> other plastic fractions of electronic devices is one of the major
sources 22 of dioxins <strong>and</strong> furans in Ghana (see section “Safe <strong>and</strong> healthy living conditions”
(3.3.1)), it is obvious that the currently practiced e-waste recycling is the major source of
these pollutants in Ghana.
In the field work of this <strong>study</strong>, unjustifiable risks as a result of refurbishing business were not
identified.
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According to EMPA (2010), about 10%–20% of cables are directly associated with e-waste. Apparently, endof-life
cars are another major source of copper cables.