Accra (AFP) – Acrid smoke hangs above the sprawling landfill in Agbogbloshie, a district of Accra, the Ghanaian capital. Excavators cut through mountains of waste that slowly burned, thin black swirls escaping from burning plastic and rubber.

Published on: 10/11/2026 - 11:50

Here, thousands of tonnes of waste have been accumulating for decades in the open air, submerging the Accra lagoon and its fragile ecosystem, as well as the neighboring slum of Old Fadama and its around 80,000 inhabitants, mainly migrants and traders.

Every day, without gloves or a protective mask, James Hassan, a 31-year-old scrap dealer from Liberia, sifts through discarded electronics and metals before reselling them.

His hands bear the marks of his labor: the skin on his palms is thick and marked with cuts and rashes to which he has "become accustomed."

“I have headaches and coughs after long days spent in the sun,” describes the man who has “never consulted a doctor.”

Workers at the landfill can absorb toxic metals and chemicals through skin cuts and inhalation of fumes and dust, according to Reginald Quansah, an epidemiologist at the University of Ghana.

But for him, it is difficult to establish a link between specific diseases and the pollution of Agbogbloshie because "there is no causal study" directly linking health problems to a particular toxin present at the site.

Fashion “dump”

Agbogbloshie's waste largely comes from outside Ghana's borders.

The city's huge second-hand clothing market absorbs imports from Europe, North America and Asia, but "a lot of clothing shipped to Ghana arrives as waste," Samuel Quashie-Idun, head of investigations at Greenpeace Africa, told AFP.

The NGO estimates that 15 million used clothes arrive in Ghana every week - which for example represented more than 110,000 tonnes for the whole of 2022.

Once traders have sorted what they can sell, carry or repair, about half ends up as "dead waste", dumped on beaches, in fields and in Agbogbloshie where it is burned.

For a population of only 35 million, “these volumes far exceed local demand, and much of it only overloads waste management systems,” estimates Greenpeace.

According to the NGO, the majority of imported textiles are synthetic, with 89% of "end-of-use" clothing sampled containing petrochemical fibers like polyester, which release microplastics as they decompose.

Among the brands identified, global fast-fashion heavyweights Primark and H&M, as well as Marks & Spencer. Greenpeace noted the presence of benzene and other carcinogenic substances at concentrations several hundred times higher than safety thresholds in the smoke released by the combustion of these textiles.

“It is not only an environmental crisis (...) It is also a health crisis,” says Hellen Kahaso Dena, project manager at Greenpeace. “Northern countries are effectively using Ghana as a dumping ground for fashion waste.”

Contamination

In addition to textiles, electrical and electronic waste accumulates: old refrigerators, televisions, household appliances and computers are subject to rudimentary recycling.

Barima Okuanaju dismantles refrigerators and cars by hand to recover the copper wires, aluminum panels and iron parts, which he then sells for 50 to 100 cedis daily (3.87 to 7.74 euros).

Burning computer cables and batteries releases lead, mercury and other toxins and emits soot and dioxins that communities breathe.

The Agbogbloshie food market, with its food stalls, thrives amid the smoke.

Aminatu Fatawu, 14, sells bottled water to local workers to save money to pay her school fees.

Because of the garbage burned continuously, "it always makes me cough. When I spit, there is sometimes blood," she laments, crushing a drop of saliva between her fingers.

Reginald Quansah, the epidemiologist, emphasizes the risks for local workers: dust and toxic fumes can harm lung development and neurological health, particularly among the youngest.

Lead, for example, "has a strong affinity for the brain," he notes, and exposure during childhood causes learning difficulties, "a link documented elsewhere, although not proven in the Ghanaian context."

Heavy metals and organic pollutants from the landfill seep into the lagoon and soil, reaching fish and crops.

Sanitation

In September, Ghanaian President John Mahama launched a clean-up operation, ordering the removal of one million tonnes of waste from Agbogbloshie within 90 days.

Since then, excavators have started transporting the waste to the Adepa sanitary landfill, about 50 km from Accra.

On site, the garbage will be compacted and buried in compliance with strict environmental protection measures, assures the government, which hopes to create up to 20,000 jobs for informal collectors by training them in recycling.

James Hassan, the Liberian scrap dealer, would be "happy to give up this activity" if the government "offered safer work". But no longer believe in these kinds of promises, heard too much in the past.

© 2026 AFP

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