Review of Toxic Equity in Ghana’s Survival Economy: A Critical Systems Analysis of Informal E-Waste Labor and its Hidden Consequences Post-2021 Demolition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajec.v5i3.8398Keywords:
Critical Systems Analysis, Electronic Waste, Health Risks, Informal Recycling, Toxic EquityAbstract
Global consumption of electrical and electronic equipment has driven e-waste generation to unprecedented levels, reaching 62 million tonnes worldwide in 2022, with projections of 82 million tonnes by 2030. In Ghana, informal recycling activities provide essential livelihoods for many citizens yet expose workers and surrounding communities to severe toxic hazards and widespread environmental degradation. This paper examines toxic equity in Ghana through a critical systems analysis, interpreting the impacts of informal recycling at Agbogbloshie on workers and nearby residents, and assessing the consequences of the site’s partial demolition in 2021, which displaced many recyclers to Ashaiman and other peri-urban locations. Material flow analysis combined with health surveillance data and statistical modelling shows that metal recovery efficiency remains low at approximately 25 percent, while an estimated 3,375 kg of lead equivalent is released annually from the processing of 15,000 tonnes of e-waste. Biomarkers indicate that 77.7 percent of workers exhibit pathological blood lead levels, with a strong positive association between weekly exposure hours and both elevated blood lead levels and self-reported health symptoms. Migrants engaged in this survival economy earn roughly 45 Ghanaian cedis (about USD 3) per day while enduring extreme toxicity, reinforcing poverty–health traps that exemplify toxic equity. The spatial redistribution of informal recycling after 2021 has complicated enforcement of the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917). The paper recommends formalization pathways, hybrid formal–informal models, extended producer responsibility mechanisms, and targeted capacity-building to advance occupational health, environmental protection, and circular-economy objectives consistent with Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 12.
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