E-waste describes electrical and electronic equipment or parts of it that have been discarded by
the owner without any intention of reuse. The annual global volumes of e-waste are rapidly
increasing. In Ghana, the increasing quantities of e-waste have created avenue where the
recovery of inherently valuable fractions from e-waste is performed by a dominating informal
recycling sector using crude and primitive recycling procedures which pollute soil, water and the
atmosphere with consequent threats to human health and the environment. This study
examines the factors affecting current e-waste management in Ghana, the level and spatial
extent of heavy metal pollution and contamination at the Agbogbloshie (AEPS) e-waste
processing site in Accra, the ecological risks the metals pose, the carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic
health risk of these heavy metals to children under six years, the possible loss of
critical raw metals and the possibilities to mainstream the recycling activities of the informal
sector. Methods used were experimental elemental analysis of nine heavy metals (Ba, Cd, Co,
Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn), field observations and interviews using structured questionnaires. The
review of e-waste management and existing legislation in Ghana showed a lack of e-wastespecific
legislation, inadequate infrastructure, lack of skills and human capacity, and low public
awareness and education as factors affecting e-waste management in the country. The analysis
of the selected heavy metals revealed that the concentrations at the AEPS exceeded the
regulatory limits of both Dutch and Canadian Soil Quality and Guidance Values and that
contamination extended beyond the main burning and dismantling sites of the informal
recyclers to the school, residential, recreational, clinic, farm and worship areas. For five out of
nine heavy metals, geostatistical analysis reveals normal distribution, spatial variability
and spatial autocorrelation using the Moran index at a Z-score greater that 1.6 at p-value
less than 0.05. The health risk assessment using the hazard index for both carcinogenic and
non-carcinogenic elements indicates that Cr and Pb with a hazard index above the 1 threshold
of unacceptable limit pose significant health risks (neurological and developmental disorders) to
children under six years. It can be concluded that an appropriate mix of legislation,
infrastructure, and local and international collaboration, together with the ability to enforce and
ensure the mainstreaming and integration of the informal recyclers could help minimize the
environmental and health risks and loss of critical rare earth metals from e-waste processing in
Ghana.