Table of Contents
Why does e-waste go to Ghana?
The Agbogbloshie dump is a result of the world’s increasing demand for electronic equipment as consumers continually upgrade their devices and throw out the older ones. A significant proportion of this electronic waste is sent, often illegally, from the West to developing countries across Africa and Asia.
Why does US e-waste get sent overseas?
The U.S. also has strict environmental and safety regulations that recyclers must abide by, which adds to the cost of operating the plant. Some recycling plants have found that shipping their hazardous e-waste overseas for processing is much less expensive than handling it in the states.
Why do countries import e-waste?
The global waste trade is the international trade of waste between countries for further treatment, disposal, or recycling. Toxic or hazardous wastes are often imported by developing countries from developed countries.
What is the reason of exporting e-waste to developing countries?
The practice of developed countries exporting e-waste to developing countries has become commonplace for a variety of reasons. High labor costs and stringent environmental regulations for hazardous waste disposal in developed countries encourage the exportation of e-waste to less developed and less regulated countries.
How e-waste affects Ghana?
Both water and sediment samples show that e-waste-related contaminant shave entered Ghana’s water ways. The extent of pollution produced in key water bodies of Ghana (Odaw River and the Korle Lagoon) underscores the need for aquatic risk assessments of the many contaminants released during e-waste processing.
What happens to e-waste in Africa?
E-waste generally ends up in landfills, the largest one being in Agbogbloshie, a commercial district near the centre of Accra. E-waste management has become a major challenge facing many African countries because of lack of awareness, environmental legislation and limited financial resources.
Which country is the largest contributor of e-waste?
Electronic waste is a serious environmental issue in China. China is the largest importer of e-waste and is home to most of the world’s largest dumpsites.
Which countries receive the most e-waste?
China is the largest producer of electronic waste worldwide, generating more than 10 million metric tons worth in 2019. This was followed by the United States where roughly seven million metric tons was produced.
Where does America’s e-waste go?
However, most electronic waste still ends up in landfills or gets incinerated, wasting useful resources and releasing toxic chemicals and other pollutants — such as lead, mercury, and cadmium — into the soil, groundwater, and atmosphere to the detriment of the environment.
What is e-waste in Ghana?
In Ghana, 95 per cent of such electrical and electronic waste is collected, but both collection and recycling are organised largely informally. The most important location is the Old Fadama digital waste dump in the Ghanaian capital Accra, commonly known as ‘Agbogbloshie’.
What happens to e-waste in Ghana?
Only 35 per cent of second-hand and waste electronics in Europe end up in official recycling and collection systems. The rest ends up simply thrown into waste bins, recycled under non-compliant conditions or exported to places such as Benin, Ghana and Nigeria.