Accra, Mar 03, GNA – Nana Efua Ababio, Chief Executive Officer, National E-waste Fund says an effective and efficient recycling industry is crucial to Ghana’s quest to transform its waste management into a circular economy.
She said there was the need to improve the capacity of recycling industries and create an enabling environment to deal with waste especially the e-waste sector.
Mrs Ababio, who was speaking during a working visit to Electro Recycling Ghana, a recycling facility in Accra, said many materials popularly referred to as waste by the public were a resource that could be turned into varied brands of products.
The visit was part of activities of stakeholders in the e-waste to familiarised themselves with operations of some selected recycling, understand the challenges and how best to support them.
Currently, in Ghana about 97 per cent of the process of managing e-waste was done informally, releasing pollutants to contaminate soil, air and groundwater, a study has revealed.
According to the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy and the UN E-Waste Coalition report published this year by the United Nations, around 50 million tons of e-waste are being thrown away each year. That figure is projected to double by 2050.
Mrs Ababio said the country’s ability to formalise the e-waste sector would yield financial returns, provide employment, and protect the environment by using e-waste in producing reusable items.
She said that her firm would collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to help build and improve the capacity of recyclers to deal with e-waste.
Mrs Ababio commended Electro Recycling Ghana Foundation for their support of the circular economy and urged them to innovate new products from materials that were termed as waste.
Mr Jeffrey Adongo, Innovations Manager, Electro Recycling Ghana, said in 2022, the company produced over 10,000 televisions and sold them at affordable prices.
In that same year, the company also manufactured power banks to provide energy to electrical and electronic gadgets including laptops, televisions, electric bicycles, and irrigation systems.
Ms Cornelia Stolzenberg, Head of Programme, GIZ E-Waste Programme, said the Waste Control and Management Act was a good one but noted that the challenge with legislation was a better system for its implementation.
She said there was a need for a systematic approach, where the government would enforce the laws for implementation.
Ms Stolzenberg stressed that the private sector must have the technical knowledge and capacities for the disposal of hazardous fractions.
She said the government must support the private sector in terms of finance, permits and land title since they needed the technical support.
Ms Stolzenberg said the GIZ E-Waste Programme was working through the Environment Ministry and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the coordination of e-waste recycling in Ghana.
