Electronic waste trade and "sustainability" in Agbogbloshie, Accra, Ghana. At the end of a supply chain?

The rapid increase in the production and consumption of electrical and electronic equipment has resulted in high volumes of electronic waste and its associated trade from the Global North to the Global South. In the Global South, there is often little or no regulation or ineffective regulation and electronic waste is mainly managed by low skilled workers in the informal sector. Electronic waste contains hazardous components which when managed improperly can negatively impact human health and the environment. This paper reviews how the informal workers in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, manage and dispose of e-waste mainly from the Global North. Using a stakeholder's perspective, this paper explores the benefits and risks of e-waste "recycling" in Agbogbloshie; the next steps that could be taken to implement an environmentally safe process of e-waste management in Ghana, and how willing stakeholders (chosen for this research) are to be involved in stakeholder engagement. Using environmental justice as a framework, it explores the value of recycling electronic waste in Agbogbloshie. The paper concludes that it is not worth the risks associated with managing electronic waste. The paper makes recommendations based on stakeholder engagement, regulation, and the incorporation of sustainable business practices in the electronic industry's operations based on best practices and on input from the stakeholders that were interviewed in Ghana. The recommendations attempt to find ways of reducing the influx of electronic waste into Ghana and to move the current management and disposal of electronic waste towards an environmentally safer manner of managing electronic waste, in order to minimize the negative impacts.