Projects

Fuelled by the accelerated pace of digitalization and the rise of a global middle class, the market for electrical and electronic equipment is expanding rapidly, and with it the production of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste). In Ghana, the vast majority of e-waste is managed under poor environmental, health and safety conditions. Open burning of cables and manual disassembly of lead-acid batteries are still widely used practices, causing significant environmental pollution and damage to human health. 

In urban areas, hygiene and sanitation are an ongoing struggle because of increasing urbanization and the resulting growth in household waste. Aside from the unbearable odour of rotting garbage that affects the daily life of residents, such waste attracts insects, rodents and reptiles capable of transmitting disease.

Cashew industry waste (currently about 2,000 tons/year, with the potential to increase to 15,000 tons/year) is a sustainable alternative to wood as a fuel for domestic and industrial needs.

“NEERE” in the local language means “pretty” or “clean”. As the project’s name suggests, its general objective is to contribute to the emergence of clean, sustainable cities through the use of integrated waste management strategies. By the end of the project, all households should be educated in responsible waste management and should be subscribed to the newly created waste management system. The project should result in a more pleasant living environment, with the removal of at least 60% of the garbage piles and dumps scattered around the communes involved.

The by-products and waste streams of agricultural processes are currently not widely utilized. This project is aimed at fostering the use of biomass technologies to turn such agricultural by-products and waste into feedstock or fuel, as a means of adding value to farm produce and increasing farmers’ incomes. The manufacturing sector would also benefit from the transfer of technology for biogas burners, milk coolers, lighting equipment and appliances, briquette presses and other related equipment.

Many micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises lack an awareness of sustainable agricultural value and supply chains and how agricultural waste-to-energy systems can support sustainable consumption and production practices. The agricultural sector is facing unprecedented resource pressures. The Renewable Energy and Energy-Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), a Vienna-based international organization that advances markets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, envisions future agricultural production in South Africa as being clean, powered by renewable energy and energy-efficient systems.

Kenya has 14 operating tanneries, most of which face challenges pertaining to limited modernization and effluent management. Approximately 95% of the leather produced is being exported in a semi-processed state (wet blue), earning approximately $160 million a year.

Volumes of e-waste and end-of-life vehicles (ELV) in Ghana are increasing by about 49 million tons per year due to a growing population, and in particular due to changing lifestyles, as well as to imports of e-waste and ELV. While there is a high level of reuse and refurbishment of used electrical and electronic equipment and used vehicles and their components, unsound treatment and disposal of e-waste and ELV cause enormous damage to the environment and human health. This project is aimed at supporting eco-entrepreneurship opportunities for the treatment of such waste.

In Ghana, 95% of the population depends on on-site, stand-alone treatment systems to meet their sanitation needs. The contents of such sanitation facilities, whether domestic, industrial or in the hospitality sector, are rich in methane gas, but are disposed of indiscriminately in the open air, with all the attendant public health implications. 

Ghana generates over 150,000 tons of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE, or e-waste) annually. This is in addition to end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment imported into the country.