Waste is one of the most impactful substances present that we produce daily. Waste is being referred to as an umbrella term which encompasses all materials which have been discarded, this can range in everything from technology to single use plastic bags. The most influential countries have been recorded as the high-income nations, this can be put down to a number of factors such as more income for more products which eventually become waste, ability to more frequently replace products and discarding older products producing more waste, more excess buying in comparison to lower income nations, lack of connection when it comes to the environment, and similar reasons such as living in larger houses which generate more waste. This has often led to the wealthier nations (USA, Italy, Germany, and Greece) exporting their waste to other countries most notably those in Africa to deal with their waste, it has been reported that over the last 3 decades over 170 trillion tonnes of polymers and plastics alone, Egypt and Nigeria have borne the brunt of the importation.
This mass importation of waste into Africa has led it to be referred to as a ‘dumping ground’ as waste from the shores of faraway countries find their way to Africa via the ocean currents and seas alongside the importation from wealthier nations to avoid regulations set by their governing bodies (such as individual governments or organisations like the EU) and due to many African nations not having such regulations on waste they are essentially eliminating their problem on paper. Despite the problem being shifted and ‘cancelled out’ the waste is still there, and it is seen as another exploitation of the continent as the Global North and Western powers still exercise extreme control over how they can influence the resource-rich continent of Africa. This practise has had the name waste colonialism coined for it as its nature of abuse inflicted by higher income nations on the lower income nations by depositing waste leading to poorer health, land, air, and water quality.
Whilst some nations have an unfathomable amount of waste and seem to have made minor moves to manage said waste other nations have introduced initiatives to head in the right direction with eliminating plastic usage. Ghana has been placed in a difficult situation with the e-waste dump in Agbogbloshire being the largest e-waste dump in the world, and is relied upon to handle over 15,000 tonnes of e-waste. It is a predicament as they handle the waste to aid their economy with many people relying on scavenging the fields of waste in Accra (Ghana) they find plastics, metals, and valuables to reuse or trade, everything else gets incinerated which leads to a range of different issues.
Simultaneously the only reason they need to do such labouring activities is due to the overwhelming amount of waste dumped around their land and the negative impact it has had to businesses and industries which would have occupied the area where the waste is located. The dump has had a detrimental effect on the inhabitants of local areas as the incineration of waste pollutes the land, air, and water reducing its quality and the health of those consuming it. Research done by the University of Michigan concluded that Arsenic, Cadmium, and lead were all found in the blood and urine of scavengers, it is believed this is due to the incineration of e-waste that leads to these toxins rising into the atmosphere, and they are returned via rain to then enter the systems of the unfortunate inhabitants.
Initiatives launched one by the African union urges African cities to recycle 50% of the waste material and to divert waste away from landfills, this would mean there has to be an increase bioenergy recovery research and technology to make use of organic waste (food). Initiatives regarding management of waste encourage new frameworks to be set up and this in turn will increase job opportunities not only help boost the economy but tackle pollution to a serious degree enough so that it is noticed and can have knock on effects such as neighbouring countries adopting similar standards and regulations. Working against pollution and climate change is not a concern for just rich nations or poor nations but an issue which affects all. There are individuals which set up organisations to aid with recycling waste. In Kenya there has been a development which repurposes plastic waste such as sandals into art, another which makes bricks/building materials to then be used to build houses located in the Ivory Coast. If given enough funding and aid these projects can be replicated on a large enough scale that Africa and her inhabitants may see themselves cleaner and healthier and may even be implemented across the globe.