The minister of Environment Science and Technology, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed has announced plans to provide enhanced incentives for scrap dealers operating at Agbogbloshie, the largest electronic waste dumpsite in the country.
The move, according to the minister, is to encourage scrap dealers to collect and recycle more electronic waste that otherwise be incinerated, contributing to environmental pollution.
Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed said this when he visited the Agbogbloshie electronic waste dumpsite on Tuesday to engage with the scrap dealers.
According to the minister, by providing better incentives, scrap dealers will be motivated to participate more actively in the e-waste collection and recycling initiative.
He said the current incentive payment system will be reviewed and improved to ensure that scrap dealers receive fair compensation for their efforts.
He said he would set up a committee, led by the chief director, tasked with reviewing and potentially enhancing the incentives package to better motivate the scrap dealers.
The minister also announced plans to implement a control bending system to facilitate the safe extraction of valuable materials like copper from electronic devices.
Additionally, the minister said partnerships with private organizations and agencies such as Zoomlion will be forged to improve waste collection and management practices.
Touching on the risk posed by improper electronic waste disposal to both human health and the environment, the minister noted that the collection center responsible for aggregating e-waste has reportedly seen a drop in contributions from scrap dealers, who were previously motivated by the incentives provided.
Background
The Agbogbloshie Scrapyard, situated near the Abossey Okai Central Mosque and the International Central Gospel Church along the Korle Bu Mortuary Road, is located alongside the heavily polluted Odaw River.
The site has gained notoriety for the open burning of electronic waste.
In a previous crackdown, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, supported by armed police, visited the Agbogbloshie Scrapyard on July 1, 2021, and demolished structures housing approximately 10,000 scrap dealers as part of the “Let’s Make Accra Work” initiative led by the prior government.
The operation involved bulldozers clearing occupants from the site and displacing the scrap dealers, which also affected a nearby onion market.
Following the demolition, several acres of the reclaimed land were allocated for the construction of the Ablekuma Central Municipal Hospital under the previous government’s Agenda 111 Hospitals project.
However, four years post-demolition, the area is witnessing a resurgence of scrap metal dealers, with new wooden structures having emerged on the land.
Story By: Emmanuel Coffie
