Adanu Selase Kofi, Gbedemah Shine Francis, Attah Mawutor Komla
Ho Technical University, P.O. Box HP 217, Ho, Ghana.
Wisconsin International University College, P.O. Box LG 751, Accra, Ghana.
Heliyon. 2020 Aug 8;6(8):e04548. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04548. eCollection 2020 Aug.
The study investigated why sustainable technologies are not used to collect, dismantle and sell e-waste at Agbogbloshie given the risk of injury and extensive environmental pollution associated with handling of electronic waste. The study objectives were to examine the nature of technologies adopted to manage e-waste, assess challenges faced in adopting sustainable technologies; determine the missing links between formal and informal e-waste workers. Research questions were; what is the current level of technology adopted to manage e-waste and challenges limiting the adoption of sustainable technologies; and what are the missing links between the formal and informal sectors that limit adoption of sustainable e-waste management strategies. Data collection involved use of questionnaire to gather data on technologies used for e-waste management, challenges faced in using such technologies and what the workers consider as solutions to sustainable e-waste management. Field observations helped to explain waste management operations and questionnaire responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Study results show most of the e-waste workers are youthful and not much educated. The use of unsustainable technologies to manage e-waste has contributed to physical injuries to workers and pollution of the environment. A major challenge limiting the use of sustainable technologies is lack of financial resources to acquire modern equipment despite the laborious nature of the work. The paper concludes that sustainable solutions to electronic waste management requires support from government to subsidize the cost of sustainable technologies in e-waste management.
鉴于处理电子垃圾会带来受伤风险和广泛的环境污染，该研究调查了为何在阿博布罗西没有采用可持续技术来收集、拆解和销售电子垃圾。研究目标是审视用于管理电子垃圾的技术的性质，评估采用可持续技术所面临的挑战；确定正规和非正规电子垃圾处理工人之间缺失的联系。研究问题包括：目前用于管理电子垃圾的技术水平如何，以及限制采用可持续技术的挑战有哪些；正规和非正规部门之间限制采用可持续电子垃圾管理策略的缺失联系是什么。数据收集包括使用问卷来收集有关用于电子垃圾管理的技术、使用此类技术所面临的挑战以及工人们认为可持续电子垃圾管理的解决方案等方面的数据。实地观察有助于解释垃圾管理操作，并使用描述性统计分析问卷回复。研究结果表明，大多数电子垃圾处理工人都很年轻且受教育程度不高。使用不可持续技术管理电子垃圾导致了工人身体受伤和环境污染。尽管工作繁重，但限制使用可持续技术的一个主要挑战是缺乏购买现代设备的资金。本文得出结论，电子垃圾管理的可持续解决方案需要政府提供支持，以补贴电子垃圾管理中可持续技术的成本。
