By Gloria Anderson
About 20% of Electronic gadgets imported into the country are waste. This poses serious hazard to agriculture, and causes diseases such as cancer in humans. To help tackle this problem, the Ghana Association of Agricultural Economist has set up a designated site for such waste products to be recycled into something useful.
The project team leader, Dr. Vincent Nartey Kyere, said E-waste, should be seen as a resource rather than trash.
Until 2016, there was no law backing Electronic waste management, therefore regulating operators was a problem. As a result, Parliament passed the Hazardous and electronic waste control and management Act, Act 197.
Though the act has been passed, E-waste continues to be a problem in Ghana.
The GAAE project seeks to collect and recycle items especially spoilt gadgets such as Phones, Computers and electric cables among others to reduce climate change.
Areas mostly affected by these E-waste include Agbogbloshie where scrap dealers are found, and these are areas that practice urban agriculture.
According to GAAE Project Team Leader, Dr. Vincent Nartey Kyere, these hazardous materials found in E-waste either settle on the skin or inside the body, causing health challenges to humans.
He said there is the need to find a balance in value and threats of E-waste, and harness its value.
A representative of the Environment Protection Agency, EPA Felix Mote said the programme is to ensure enforcement of the Act to manage the E-waste menace.
He said the EPA will soon formalize the E-waste business in the country to reduce its effect on the environment.
Individuals who supply the recycling site with unused electronics will be given incentives. The project will also train people especially students to set up mini recycling sites in their homes that could grow into a bigger business.
