Dr. Afriyie Akoto (2nd right) handing over documents of the land to contractors to commence work on the project
GOVERNMENT, through the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), has commenced the construction of a 1500metre-square storage facility for defined electronic waste types in the country.
On Tuesday, the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, in the company of Arndt Wierheim, Country Director of KfW, handed over a five-acre land to contractors at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and cut sod for the construction of the facility.
The project is aimed at supporting Ghana to set up an incentive mechanism for the sound collection, dismantling, recycling and disposal of e-waste to reduce damage to the environment and human health.
Funded by KfW, the project is also to channel e-waste from the informal sector into sound recycling.
Dr. Afriyie said the project was very significant because “it represents a huge practical step towards government’s efforts in solving the country’s current challenges in the e-waste sector,” describing it as “very critical to the success of the national e-waste programme.”
To achieve this objective, the project will offer scrap dealers a price of four eligible e-waste types which lies slightly above the market value for the e-waste type; as well as subsidize the collection and cover the additional cost associated with sound recycling.
Dr. Afriyie noted that the project was modeled to align with the provisions of the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917); and provided government “the opportunity to identify challenges and lessons learnt to improve upon the national system once it took off fully.”
“When completed, the site would serve as the centre for the collection and receiving of e-waste fractions from the informal collectors or individuals,” he disclosed.
Giving an overview of the project, Lydia Essuah, Project Director, said the project, which cost 20 million Euros, was in two phases with the first phase expected to be completed in June this year.
According to her, the project will not only channel the worst polluting e-waste from the informal sector into sound recycling, but will also contribute to the development of a sustainable national recycling system in Ghana, as well as provide the building blocks for the sound recycling and disposal of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Ghana.
The project, she added, was also expected to serve as a pilot and provide lessons for the national e-waste system and operationalization of the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917).
Mr. Wierheim reiterated their commitment to support Ghana in the effort to ensure that e-waste was properly managed.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio