Agbogbloshie, in Ghana\u2019s capital city, Accra, is a sprawling, open-air scrapyard located next to a lagoon and a growing informal settlement. Roughly 6,000 people dismantle, recycle and burn old and broken electronics there. <\/p>\n
The world produces approximately 62 million tonnes<\/a> of electronic or e-waste every year. The Agbogbloshie site is one of the world\u2019s biggest.<\/p>\n E-waste is old, broken and thrown away electronic devices with cords or batteries, such as cellphones, household appliances, and televisions. Over 80%<\/a> is dumped in landfills or processed informally by workers who have no health and safety protections, operating largely without government oversight, support, or occupational safety.<\/p>\n Read more: Much of the world\u2019s e-waste is shipped to countries like Ghana in west Africa where copper and aluminium are extracted, and batteries containing lithium and cobalt are recycled. The old electronics are burned out in the open to extract the minerals. Uncontrolled acid leaching<\/a> is also used. <\/p>\n The exact value of the minerals fed back into the global supply chain is unknown. However, we do know that informal workers are shortchanged. This is because exporters buy recycled minerals like copper at prices well below international market rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Continually recycling and reusing goods, instead of throwing them away, is a core part of the \u201ccircular economy\u201d concept<\/a>. It is supposed to promote sustainability<\/a> and help address climate change.<\/p>\n Read more: But as researchers who study informal economies and how materials move through global supply chains, my colleagues Patrick Cobbinah, Dimitrios Gounaridis and I recently found<\/a> that the reality behind these supposedly \u201csustainable\u201d supply chains in Agbogbloshie\u2019s e-waste sites is very different.<\/p>\n We found that informal recycling provides an income for workers which is often relatively better than other available work. But the side effects of burning plastic and metal or using acid to extract minerals from the e-waste are devastating to human health and the natural environment. <\/p>\n Read more: The situation in Agbogbloshie is part of a global injustice. Wealthy countries enjoy the benefits of recycled materials like copper and aluminium, while some of the world\u2019s most vulnerable people are forced to compromise their own health and environments to sustain these supply chains. <\/p>\n Rather than turn away from people living in informal settlements and working in the informal economy, community engagement should influence government policy to improve their working conditions. Supportive<\/a> infrastructure must be developed at the e-waste site and in the informal settlement. Equally importantly, international regulatory bodies and policy makers from exporting and importing countries must better govern the flows of e-waste. It\u2019s too easily dumped in countries like Ghana with little to no recourse. <\/p>\n Where earning a living means breathing toxic air<\/p>\n The men and women working in and supporting the informal e-waste economy in Agbogbloshie are navigating what we call the \u201cinformal paradox\u201d<\/a>. This is where workers have to expose themselves and their communities to toxic pollution in order to get short term livelihood gains. The informal paradox shows that the immediate need to survive replaces the need to avoid chronic threats to human and environmental health. <\/p>\n Courtesy University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.<\/p>\n For example, open burning of electronics has, in part, led to extreme exposure to particulate matter 2.5<\/a> (millions of tiny particles of polluting matter such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke that are released by burning).<\/p>\n The e-waste workers in Agbogbloshie breathe this in<\/a> at concentrations five times higher<\/a> than the World Health Organization\u2019s safety standards. This increases the risk of heart attacks, cancer, nervous system damage and other diseases.<\/p>\n The toxic dust also spreads out across nearby informal settlements and the entire city of Accra. Agbogbloshie\u2019s soil and water are also highly contaminated<\/a> with these and other heavy metals. The effects spill over to the nearby produce market and lagoon. <\/p>\n What 20 years of satellite data revealed about pollution and survival<\/p>\n To understand how serious and complicated this problem has become, we studied 20 years of satellite data and interviewed 55 community members and city experts in Accra. <\/p>\n Our research found that between 2000 and 2020, air pollution and particulate matter 2.5 increased dramatically<\/a> around Agbogbloshie. The number of people in nearby informal or shack settlements steadily increased<\/a> during that time, so more people breathed in the toxic soot.<\/p>\n Read more: People migrate from rural areas to Agbogbloshie to escape famine, conflict, and worsening farming conditions linked to climate change<\/a>. For many, processing and recycling e-waste is the only way to earn a living. <\/p>\n The e-waste workers told us they are aware of the dangers they face. As one said:<\/p>\n The hunter does not fear guns, the same way we don\u2019t fear the weapon we work with.<\/p>\n Informal work is the global norm, not the exception<\/p>\n A huge 61%<\/a> of the world\u2019s workforce is employed informally. This means that working informally is not something that only people on the margins<\/a> of society experience. It is global and commonplace. <\/p>\n Therefore, new ways<\/a> to include informal work in the world\u2019s development and supply chains are needed. These must be based on working with<\/a>, not against, the people who have the least access to services and opportunities. <\/p>\n Read more: Guaranteeing basic human and labour rights must be a non-negotiable foundation of the global circular economy. There are also very real economic opportunities in improving working conditions in the e-waste sector. Global e-waste stocks are estimated<\/a> to be worth US$65 billion. Yet many e-waste workers earn less than US$1.25 a day<\/a>. <\/p>\n If responsibly managed in the interests of local communities, recycling could lift thousands of people out of poverty and contribute to an actually sustainable circular economy. <\/p>\n What to do about it<\/p>\n Ghana has ratified<\/a> both international conventions<\/a> that regulate e-waste. The country also passed a law<\/a> to manage e-waste in 2016. <\/p>\n But government intervention remains very weak and sometimes even actively harmful. The government has carried out<\/a> hostile evictions and housing demolitions to remove people from the dumpsite. These have not reduced e-waste recycling though, and have only made workers\u2019 lives more precarious.<\/p>\n To properly address these problems, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly must end home demolitions and evictions<\/a> in Agbogbloshie\u2019s informal settlements. <\/p>\n Read more:
\n Why Nigeria needs to manage electronic waste better<\/a><\/p>\n
\n Toxic waste dumping in the Gulf of Guinea amounts to environmental racism<\/a><\/p>\n
\n How potential of massive e-waste dump in Ghana can be harnessed<\/a><\/p>\n
\n Humans generate 62 million tonnes of e-waste each year. Here\u2019s what happens when it\u2019s recycled<\/a><\/p>\n
\n Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa: how they stack up on reusing waste<\/a><\/p>\n
\n A rising tide of e-waste, made worse by AI, threatens our health, the environment and the economy<\/a><\/p>\n