Kenya and Ghana Confront Toxic E‑Waste Dumping in Landmark Policy Brief

A new policy brief has warned that toxic electronic waste shipments disguised as donations are devastating communities in Kenya and Ghana. The launch in Nairobi highlighted the health toll on informal waste workers and called for urgent government action to enforce international conventions and protect livelihood.

Kenya imports about 70% of its electronic equipment, much of it near end‑of‑life. The country generates approximately 51,000 metric tonnes of e‑waste annually, yet only 1% is formally recycled. Surveys in Nairobi’s Korogocho settlement show 61% of waste pickers report health problems, with nearly half suffering respiratory illness and more than a third reporting skin infections. Children as young as six are involved in burning and dismantling electronics, exposing them to lead, cadmium, and other toxins.

At the launch event held at Alliance Française in Nairobi on the United Nations International Day of Zero Waste, Greenpeace Africa presented findings that highlight the scale of the crisis. Ghana’s Agbogbloshie site, the world’s largest electronic waste dump, continues to receive hundreds of thousands of tonnes of e‑waste, largely from Western Europe and the United States.

The crisis intensified after China’s 2017 ban on foreign waste imports, which redirected large volumes of hazardous waste toward Africa, often mislabelled and shipped in violation of the Basel and Bamako Conventions.

The findings reflect what environmental groups describe as “waste colonialism”, the systematic offloading of hazardous waste onto African communities. Hellen Kahaso Dena, Pan‑African Plastics Project Lead at Greenpeace Africa, stated: “What we are witnessing is waste colonialism in action: wealthy countries offloading toxic burdens onto African communities under the guise of development and charity.”

She emphasised the human cost of unsafe recycling practices: “When only about 1% of e‑waste is formally recycled, the remainder is handled in informal settings where waste pickers, many of whom are from vulnerable groups, are exposed to dangerous substances such as lead, cadmium, and carcinogenic fumes of burning electronics.”

Kahaso added that the statistics represent lived realities: “These are not abstract numbers. Behind every statistic is a mother, a child, a young man trying to earn a living by picking through the world’s discarded electronics with his bare hands. That is the human cost of our collective failure to manage this crisis.”

On the need for stronger state intervention, she said: “Kenya and Ghana cannot continue to absorb the world’s discarded electronics while receiving none of the benefits. We are calling on both governments to enforce Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, formalise and protect informal waste workers, and work with customs to stop illegal e‑waste shipments at the border. The solutions exist. What is missing is the political will.”

The policy brief sets out concrete recommendations to both governments. These include strengthening enforcement of Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, ensuring compliance by electronics producers and importers, and incentivising eco‑design and sustainable product life extension. It calls for strict enforcement of the Basel and Bamako Conventions, requiring that all shipped used electronics be functional and destined for reuse, with hazardous processing handled in exporting countries.

Another recommendation is the formal recognition of waste workers as legitimate economic actors. This would involve providing safety training, personal protective equipment, and certification, alongside fair buy‑back and franchising models linking informal collectors with licensed recyclers. The brief also advocates embedding circular economy principles, launching incentives for domestic repair and recycling businesses, and investing in vocational training for electronics refurbishment.

Expanding collection infrastructure is highlighted as a priority, with proposals for accessible e‑waste drop‑off points in both urban and rural areas, supported by digital platforms to coordinate pickups and track disposal flows. Consumer awareness campaigns are also recommended, focusing on safe disposal, data security in recycling, and environmental risks, with incentives for consumers to return old devices.

The exhibition accompanying the launch, curated by Kenyan photojournalist Edwin Nyamasyo, provided a stark visual account of the crisis. Nyamasyo explained: “These images are not easy to look at, but they are far harder to live with. My work is to make sure no one can say they did not know.” His photographs captured the human and environmental scale of the waste crisis as experienced by communities on the frontlines in Kenya and Ghana.

Original ReportingNewz.Africa reviewed the Greenpeace Africa policy brief and accompanying factsheet, and confirmed health survey data from Nairobi’s Korogocho settlement. Comment was obtained from Greenpeace Africa’s Pan‑African Plastics Project Lead.