News about waste and recycling

Images credit: Brandon Marc Finn
A University of Michigan study found that people in Ghana and across the Global South who recycle electronic waste face a difficult paradox: earning livelihoods to ensure survival comes at the cost of severe long-term exposure to toxicity and dramatic environmental pollution.
We celebrate every solar home system installed, every smallholder farmer gaining access to irrigation, every household moving from kerosene to clean lighting. And rightfully so—these are genuine victories in the fight for energy access and climate resilience.
A few years back, amidst the bustling solar energy scene in Ethiopia, a rather disheartening trend caught my eye. I was working with several international solar companies and behind their warehouses, tucked away in forgotten corners or sitting on the shelves of rural shops, I would regularly see mountains of discarded solar home systems.
The 2024 Off-Grid Solar (OGS) Market Trends Report notes that only 27% of products sold globally are quality-verified, leaving the majority of the off-grid products that make it to the market (73%) without adequate quality assurance data. This creates uncertainty about the reliability and safety of a large portion of OGS products​.
Increasing urbanisation is reducing access to traditional fuels such as wood and crop residue from farmland. But plastic is readily available. Low-income households with little or no access to gas or electricity often find themselves living alongside mountains of rubbish.
Nigeria and five other African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Namibia, and Rwanda, yesterday launched the Circular Economy Powered Renewable Energy Centre (CEPREC) as part of steps towards addressing Africa’s energy and e-waste challenges.
Credit: Jason Mulikita / SolarAid
Solar power has transformed life in Africa. Now, as the aging devices begin to break down, “solar entrepreneurs” are keeping them — and local economies — humming.
By globally collecting end-of-first-life solar panels, batteries, and energy storage systems, GE4A refurbishes, reengineers, and repurposes this equipment into high-performance Energy Hubs—decentralized networks that deliver affordable, reliable clean energy.