According to United Nations around 50 million tons of electronic waste is being thrown away each year. That figure is projected to double by 2050.
At the same time, only 20 percent of e-waste is thought to be recycled appropriately. A significant proportion of this electronic waste is sent, often illegally, from the West to developing countries across Africa and Asia and is disposed of by informal workers in poor conditions.
Ghana is one of the importer of second hand electronics in West Africa. Containers send here are marked as second hand consumer products, so they are not strictly considered waste, but they end up in Agbogbloshie.
Agbogbloshie is one of the poorest urban area in Accra, housing a vegetable market, a scrap metal yard, a deeply impoverished community, an industrial area, and a household waste dump. Dozens of thousands people including children subsist from the work here, living on-site or in deeply impoverished communities, many of them come from the northern regions of Ghana. This place also generates hundreds of jobs for young people from the poorest parts of Ghana and contributes to recycling.
Also it's one of the most dangerous districts in Accra, running by local gangs with high level of crimes.
At the same time, only 20 percent of e-waste is thought to be recycled appropriately. A significant proportion of this electronic waste is sent, often illegally, from the West to developing countries across Africa and Asia and is disposed of by informal workers in poor conditions.
Ghana is one of the importer of second hand electronics in West Africa. Containers send here are marked as second hand consumer products, so they are not strictly considered waste, but they end up in Agbogbloshie.
Agbogbloshie is one of the poorest urban area in Accra, housing a vegetable market, a scrap metal yard, a deeply impoverished community, an industrial area, and a household waste dump. Dozens of thousands people including children subsist from the work here, living on-site or in deeply impoverished communities, many of them come from the northern regions of Ghana. This place also generates hundreds of jobs for young people from the poorest parts of Ghana and contributes to recycling.
Also it's one of the most dangerous districts in Accra, running by local gangs with high level of crimes.
