Environmental injustice of informal e-waste recycling in Agbogbloshie-Accra: urban political ecology perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper provides additional empirical knowledge of injustice embedded in the urban governance of informal-sector electronic waste (e-waste) recycling in Ghana. It uses Urban Political Ecology and Environmental Justice perspectives to explain how divergent interest and power among diverse actors in the e-waste sector engender social and environmental (in)justice in Accra. Using the case study approach, this paper reveals that the persistent struggles over interest and power which characterise the governance and management of informal e-waste recycling generate inequity, false accusations, misrecognition, disrespect, devaluation, neglect, exclusion, and abuse of freedom and rights. Inclusive of the finding is the development of local resistance and social movement in defence of interests and against state aggression, oppression, domination and neglect. The study concludes to suggest that the governance of urban socio-economic and ecological space of Accra should involve coordination, participation, holistic inclusion of diverse interest, so as to minimise trade-offs and reap synergies.

KEYWORDS:

• Informal e-waste recycling
• Agbogbloshie
• urban political ecology
• environmental injustice

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge Prof Ragnhild Lund for her support, advice and supervision during my academic life at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Special gratitude also goes to the editor, Dr Rob Krueger and anonymous reviewers whose comments improve the quality of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly supported by the Norwegian Government under the Quota Scheme Scholarship.