Scrap metals role in circular economy in Ghana, using Sunyani as a case study

Abstract

Scrap metals can create jobs. It can also be reused and recycled as resource recovery measure in a circular economic model for Ghana. This case study therefore is a preliminary assessment of the quantity and economic value of scrap metals as essential part of resource recovery in the circular economic model. The findings of the study shows that scrap metal industry is growing in the Sunyani Municipality and similar trend is likely in other cities in Ghana as well. The most abundant of the metals found was aluminum while copper was most expensive. Though sales of the scrap was profitable, it was done on monthly basis owing to low rate of volume of scrap realized by the owners. Much of the scrap was dumped at various waste dumping sites in the municipality, thus raising concerns about lack of knowledge of residents about the profitability and recovery values of scrap metals in the circular models. As a result, this could lead to environmental pollution, inefficient resource utilization and energy uses. Therefore, proper education, policy and regulatory measures are key recommendations to prevent these and encourage uses of scrap metals in the circular economy of Ghana. Also, it is recommended that transfer, recycling and foundry stations should be built to prevent high transportation cost due to long haulage distance to final destination points of sales and recycling or reuses.

A Synergy Between Sustainable Solid Waste Management and the Circular Economy in Tanzania Cities: a Case of Scrap Metal Trade in Arusha City

“…These findings imply that people understand the value of these materials, which is why very few are obtained from landfills. These findings are consistent with those of Nkansah et al ( 2015 ) in Ghana, who found that households (Hhs) are the second most important source of materials.

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“…This finding is consistent with EuRIC’s ( 2020 ) findings that steel iron is the world’s most tradable and recycled scrap metal. It also agrees with Nkansah et al ( 2015 ) findings in Ghana, where copper, lead, and aluminum are the most expensive.…”

“…EuRIC ( 2020 ) states that scrap metals accounted for over one-third of global steel-iron production in 2019. This finding is similar to that of Nkansah et al ( 2015 ) in Ghana, who reported that lead, iron, and copper are the most added scrap metals. The low level of other metals, especially nonferrous metals like aluminum, brass, cast, stainless steel, and zinc, also indicates a weak industrial base in the region or country, which is why they cannot be processed (European Commission, 2019 ; Nkansah et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Furthermore, in terms of volume and profit, iron is the most traded material in Ghana (Nkansah et al, 2015 ). As in Ghana, scrap metal is exported to industrial cities such as Accra.…”

Optimal Circular Economy and Process Maintenance Strategies for an Imperfect Production–Inventory Model with Scrap Returns

“…In the manufacturing sectors of metal and plastic products, defective items can be repurposed into secondary raw materials by utilizing the melting process. The scrap metal industry is growing in the Sunyani Municipality, and a similar trend is likely to be observed in other cities in Ghana as well [3]. Paletta et al [4] proposed accelerating the circularity of plastic-based material systems for radical innovations in Italy.…”