Three poultry farmers in northern Ghana have found a new way to keep their eggs warm — by keeping them in a fridge. A prototype incubator uses a repurposed fridge as a casing, while a mechanism inside turns the eggs when needed. The idea comes from a local company called Appcyclers, which developed the prototype when a team member complained about the scarcity and price of commercial incubators. The prototype is just one way that innovators are making use of growing piles of hazardous electronic waste (e-waste).
“The long goal is actually to promote a greener, safer recycling environment in the Northern Region and in Ghana as a whole,” says engineering graduate Agudor Agabas, co-founder of Appcyclers. E-waste has a poor reputation in Ghana. The Agbogbloshie waste site and neighbouring settlement Old Fadama — known locally as ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ — near Ghana’s capital, Accra, has become a symbol of the global North’s wasteful electronics consumption. Though official estimates vary, one 2017 study estimates about 215,000 metric tons of e-waste arrives in Ghana each year, a weight equivalent to more than 20 Eiffel Towers. The site is expected to receive a new generation of e-waste as the global North develops new appliances to shift to a low-carbon economy. Renewable energy associations note that solar panels installed in the early-2000s solar energy boom are now reaching the end of their 25- to 30-year lifespan.
A law signed in 2016 requires producers and importers in Ghana to pay an eco-tax before importing new or waste electronics. Charges range from 15 US cents to US$15, depending on the product type. This will fund an e-waste management programme, which is expected to support e-waste treatment plants, training and education. Furthermore, the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) has set up a project to create new centres and training courses for e-waste recycling and disposal methods for recyclers and scrap collectors.
Source: Scidev
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