Aside from the nuisance and environmental health challenges posed by electronic waste (e-waste), there is an economic component associated with it, the Project Coordinator of E-Waste Management in Ghana (E-MAGIN), Prof. Rosemond Boohene, has said.
Prof. Boohene noted that e-waste is money in transition when the discarded materials are properly recycled. These materials, she said, can be dismantled and sold for money.
She was speaking at the closing ceremony of a workshop on e-waste organised as part of E-MAGIN, in Kumasi. E-MAGIN is a four-year project that aims to improve the management of e-waste in Ghana toward sustainable production and consumption.
The project is funded by the European Union and was launched in 2018, and is being implemented by the University of Cape Coast, Adelphi (Germany), Ghana National Cleaner Production Centre (GNCPC) and City Waste Recycling Limited.
Over the past four years, the project – which is being implemented in eight regions – has been working to support effective implementation of Act 917 through the formalisation of informal stakeholders and establishing a nationwide collection centre. It has also been conducting training and capacity building programmes, and providing decision-support to policymakers through dialogue, research and policy briefs.
As part of the awareness creation, E-MAGIN has collaborated with various stakeholders – being the policymakers, Environmental and Protection Agency (EPA), MMDAS, Micro Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MSME) and Technical and Vocational Educational Institutions (TVET) as part of awareness-creation.
According to Prof. Boohene, E-MAGIN has contributed to building the capacity of several e-waste dealers across the country, as well as helping to formalise their business. She also disclosed that beneficiaries of the project have been taken through environmental health and safety management, handling of e-waste among others. Additionally, participants were also taken through business fundamentals in an attempt to help them manage electronic waste in a sound and environmentally-friendly manner.
The Deputy Director of GNCPC, Letitia Nyaaba, noted that the E-MAGIN programme has impacted the operations of scrap dealers in the country.
She said engaging with scrap dealers has helped them build sustainable businesses while ensuring that e-waste is not indiscriminately disposed of and burnt to create environmental hazards. “They want to make a profit, but we also want to see that our water-bodies, lands and biodiversity are protected, and we want to ensure people are saved,” she said.
She expressed satisfaction that most scrap dealers are setting up associations and making efforts to run their collection centres.
A member of the Progressive Scrap Dealers Association-Suame Magazine, Musah Ackwa, who participated in the workshop explained that the platform has significantly contributed to shaping the business prospects of e-waste. “Through this profession, I have been able to purchase a plastic machine that is used to re-cycle plastic. Also, the programme has broadened my horizons and I have acquired a lot of knowledge.”
He however appealed for the banks to come to their aid, because the cost of machines for recycling operations or business has gone up – attributing the situation to COVID-19. He is also hopeful that introduction of E-levy will help management of e-waste in the country.
