Article written by Ruby Hornuvo & Eunice Emefa Boafor
Solutions and trade-offs: fixing water access but generating plastic waste?
Access to safe drinking water and appropriate waste management remains challenging in many developing countries. In addressing these challenges, solutions often create trade-offs, tackling one problem whilst exacerbating another. In Accra, one of West Africa’s largest and fastest growing cities, for instance, comparatively safe drinking water has been made accessible through the sale of drinking water in plastic bags, referred to as sachets, and bottles. To remove and manage the plastics from water sachets, a network of informal waste collectors has developed who play a vital role in the plastic recycling sector and waste management in Accra. We engaged informal waste collectors in Greater Accra to assess their business operations and identify the challenges they face
Waste polluted drainage (Source: Water and Waste Project, Ghana)
Sorted plastic waste at waste transfer site. (Source: Water and Waste Project, Ghana)
A Complex and Diverse Business Chain Making a Valuable Contribution
The plastic waste collection chain encompasses diverse business models, often differing from those dealing with unsorted waste. For many collectors, plastic waste collection serves as their primary source of livelihood, proving profitable for some who have achieved substantial earnings. However, specific individuals, notably older women engaged in collecting plastics from households, public spaces, and the general environment, express that the business of plastic collection is not particularly lucrative for them. Notably, 86 sub-collectors efficiently gather 227,606 kg of sachet plastic each week, significantly contributing to environmental cleanliness and ocean conservation
Challenges – fluctuating plastic prices, occupational health, lack of respect, and harassment by authorities
Plastic collectors face distinct challenges in their work, including fines or interruptions by authorities for undeserved traffic violations while transporting plastic waste. Some highlight the adverse impact on their business due to an influx of plastic waste from neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso and Niger, leading to a reduction in plastic prices. Frequently, it is older women engaged in collecting water sachet plastics from households and various locations, and they express concerns about occupational health problems, such as backaches from bending and carrying, along with a sense of undervaluation by society.
Perspective: time to value the contribution of informal plastic waste collectors?
Tricycles (background) used by informal waste collectors in Ghana (Source: Water and Waste Project, Ghana)
Despite the significant contribution of informal waste collectors to reducing waste pollution and promoting plastic recycling in the Greater Accra region, their efforts remain largely unrecognized and are frequently hindered by challenges.
These challenges include fluctuating plastic prices, occupational health issues such as backaches, and a lack of societal respect. The government, plastic product manufacturers, and the broader community have the potential to enhance the recognition and formalization of their activities.
This could involve providing equipment for waste crushing or collection and offering business support, ultimately empowering them to deliver safer waste management and plastic recycling services to off-grid populations.
