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

<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
August 2010
4 Analysis of present <strong>and</strong> best applicable recycling technologies 44
4.1 Recycling of desktop computers 45
4.1.1 Relevance for Ghana 45
4.1.2 Presently applied recycling technologies 46
4.1.3 Best applicable recycling technologies 47
4.1.4 Economic incentives for environmentally sound recycling 53
4.1.5 Environmental benefits 55
4.1.6 Health <strong>and</strong> safety issues <strong>and</strong> labour intensity 57
4.1.7 Interim conclusion <strong>and</strong> possible business models 58
4.2 Recycling of CRT-devices 60
4.2.1 Relevance for Ghana 60
4.2.2 Presently applied recycling technologies 60
4.2.3 Best applicable recycling technologies 61
4.2.4 Economic incentives for environmentally sound recycling 63
4.2.5 Environmental benefits 66
4.2.6 Health <strong>and</strong> safety issues <strong>and</strong> labour intensity 66
4.2.7 Interim conclusion <strong>and</strong> possible business models 67
4.3 Recycling of refrigerators <strong>and</strong> freezers 67
4.3.1 Relevance for Ghana 67
4.3.2 Presently applied recycling technologies 69
4.3.3 Best applicable recycling technologies 71
4.3.4 Economic incentives for environmentally sound recycling 75
4.3.5 Environmental benefits 77
4.3.6 Health <strong>and</strong> safety issues <strong>and</strong> labour intensity 77
4.3.7 Interim conclusion <strong>and</strong> possible business models 78
4.4 Possible risks <strong>and</strong> unintended side-effects 81
4.4.1 Dangers of negligence of non-valuable fractions 81
4.4.2 Problems related to the changing composition of e-waste 82
4.4.3 Variations of resource prices 82
4.4.4 Dangers of indirect stimulation of illegal e-waste imports 83
5 Final conclusions <strong>and</strong> recommendations 84
5.1 General recommendation to policy-makers <strong>and</strong> the Ghanaian
recycling industry 84
5.2 Specific recommendations for pilot follow-up activities 87
6 Literature 89
Annex I: SLCA-Assessment Sheet for Informal SMEs 96
Annex II: Checklist to identify health <strong>and</strong> safety risks 110
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