INFORMALITY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF E-WASTE AND THE SOCIAL INSERTION OF ITS SCAVENGERS IN AGBOGBLOSHIE, ACCRA.

Abstract

Electronic waste is recognized as having the highest growth rate amongst all the hazardous waste in the world today. Informal sector workers play a central role in this chain where such waste is collected, recycled, and/or traded. This article aims to analyze the social insertion of e-waste collectors and the informality of this sector, in Agbogbloshie, Accra-Ghana, where the largest e-waste dump in the world is located and facilitated by International Cooperation and the importation of second-hand eletro electronic equipments from developed nations and NGOs. These EEEs have a very short life-cycle and end up being discarded as e-waste. As a methodology for this work, exploratory and descriptive research was used and a questionnaire was applied to 30 e-waste collectors at the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump and semi-structured interviews: with 10 scrap collectors, 5 scrap dealers, the coordinator responsible for Solid Waste Management of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and, the coordinator in charge of e-waste at Zoomlion Ghana Limited. With governments failing to provide good working conditions and the necessary recognition to informal e-waste scavengers, they shoulder a very high health and wellbeing risk at the dump. E-wastes have highly valuable metals and other secondary materials that can be recovered through urban mining, but they also have dangerous toxic substances that contaminate workers and the environment, so their regulation is very important which seeks the welfare of these informal frontline workers. A conclusion is drawn that, these scavengers are included in the e-waste system at the most fragile point in the production chain and in a perverse way. They operate in the different activities of this chain, boosting the e-waste recycling market and the economy, but, socially, they are excluded from the social programs such as education, health, housing and social security.