‘Collection recycling of waste can earn household income’

Proper recycling of electronic ma­terials is central to combating the worst climate change impact, Nana Yaw Konadu, the Chief Executive Of­ficer (CEO) of the Electro Ghana Limited, has said.

He stated that used products, especially plastic materials from television sets, radio, computers and car batteries were resourc­es that could fetch incomes for households, if treated well-through collection and recycling.

Nana Konadu, who is also the Co-Founder of Electro Ghana, a recycling company that collects products for recycling, stated this when he conducted a team from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Inno­vation (MESTI) and the German Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Daniel Krull, round his recycling company in Accra.

Later in an interview with the Ghanaian Times, Nana Konadu urged Ghanaians to treat used materials from metals, plastics and those at the end of their life cycle as resources and not as waste.

He said what people referred to as wastes were resourceful mate­rials, which if handled well could contribute to the growth of the circular economy.

Currently, Nana Konadu’s com­pany receives huge materials from different sources for recycling.

These recycled materials are then used for the manufacturing of television; copper wire and many others.

For his part, Dr Vincent Nartey Kyere of MESTI indicated that the work of Electro Ghana Limit­ed fits into the policy of govern­ment in tackling e-waste.

He said the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Act, Act 197 aimed to address the hydra-head­ed electronic waste challenge in Ghana.

Furthermore, he noted that MESTI had plants in vari­ous parts of Ghana, including Ashaiman, Agbogloshie, Koforid­ua and Tamale.

Mr Krull, said, “I’m amazed and it’s a wonderful company that is working in a very, very import­ant field in recycling and up-cy­cling, refurbishing.”

He said there is a growing de­mand for “these resources.”

For instance, Mr Krull ex­plained that there was a directive from the European Union which imposes the automotive industry, to have a certain amount of recy­cled materials used as parts in new cars by the year 2030.

 BY MALIK SULLEMANA