Some Countries are Trying

Ghana leaves secondhand fridges out in the cold in bid to save energy

Despite a government incentive scheme, many Ghanaians are unhappy about the introduction of a ban on used fridges

A secondhand fridges shop at City Waste in a suburb of Ghana’s capital Accra. Photograph: Afua Hirsch

Behind a once mint-coloured concrete wall – now stained by red dust – in a hilly suburb of Ghana’s capital, Accra, a large machine is making history as it chugs and whirrs away.

It is a mobile fridge degassing unit – the first of its kind on the entire African continent, its owners say – and it is sucking poisonous gases out of hundreds of Ghana’s discarded secondhand fridges. The machine was imported from Germany by City Waste Management, a company specialising in the safe disposal of electronic waste.

“We take out the poisonous gases and we separate the oils,” says Vivian Atiaybor, 41, the field co-ordinator and public relations manager for City Waste. “Since October, we have processed 450 fridges here, and there are another 600 already waiting for us to collect. Many of these fridges are so old that even within our households they are already letting off poisonous gases.”

City Waste is separating and scrapping old fridges under a rebate scheme that incentivises Ghanaians to replace them with new ones in exchange for a subsidy of 200 cedis (about £70). Others have been confiscated from the port. Secondhand fridges have been banned in Ghana since 1 January, when a new law – passed in 2008 but delayed so that importers and dealers could adjust – came into force.

Officials say there are a number of reasons for banning the devices, including the use of toxic and ozone-unfriendly chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – banned under the Montreal protocol – in fridges more than 10 years old. But the main reason was to reduce the energy burden on Ghana’s already overstretched national grid, says deputy director of the Energy Commission, Kofi Agyarko.

“Ghana has a lot of used refrigerators – we conducted a study which revealed that we had in excess of 2m, and that on average they were consuming 1,200kW hours of energy in a year,” Agyarko says. “That compares with energy-efficient refrigerators in Europe and America which consume 250kW hours in the whole year. That tells you the way we were wantonly dissipating our energy resources.”

Ghana is not the first African country to ban secondhand fridges; neighbouring Ivory Coast and nearby Nigeria have both introduced legal prohibitions on the devices in recent years. But Ghana is the first African country to use public funds to subsidise the process of replacing old fridges with new ones, having allocated 3m cedis for the scheme.

“We are leading the way on the African continent because we are not just banning the importation of used refrigerators. We have also put in place an arrangement to ensure that people who cannot afford to buy new refrigerators are cushioned,” Agyarko says.

City Waste – the sole scrapyard manager for the government rebate scheme to dispose of old fridges – earns its income by selling plastics to Ghanaian companies, which recycle them to make flip-flops and plastic containers. The company also sells metals, foam and other, more hazardous, materials extracted from the fridges to recycling plants in Europe.

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Change the World Wednesday – 13th Jun

Last weeks challenge was great, my contribution was minimal, for reasons given in the post.

A common theme I found that ran through some participating posts was veges and fruit in the fridge. Not all veges and fruit should be in the fridge, that’s why they waste.

But first, an idea.

If you find you have surplus veges or that some veges are becoming tired (I loved REWinn’s ‘deflated cucumber‘, how apt) or seem beyond redemption without the aid of the compost heap; make a verdurette. Now there is no recipe for this. A verdurette is merely a blended mixture of aromatic greens with rock salt. Basically it is a vege stock that can be used whenever you need stock, but because it’s salty, you don’t need added salt to the dishes. This also keeps well because the salt is a preservative. You can visit Soup Maker Recipes for more info. Another great write up on verdurette can be found on Kitchen Garden Recipes.

Fruit & Veges

General rule, keep fruit out of the fridge. If you cut fruit, example use a half a lemon, put the unused half in the fridge. Apples and apricots can be refrigerated, but don’t refrigerate avocados, bananas, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums and tomatoes.

Most veges are kept out of the fridge, leafy veges in the fridge (out of plastic) onions, potatoes, pumpkin – out, carrots – in. Once again, cut veges – in.

Check these links Fresh Food Central for some more ideas, and Vegetarian Times for info on ‘gas releasers‘, you’ll see why this is important to consider.

Phew! All that on just one cup of coffee…

Almost a post in its own right.

Oh, the smell of freshly brewed coffee pervading the house, that in a very short time will be responsible for precious moments of transient bliss!

This week’s Change the World Wednesday challenge.

It will be, by necessity brief, I am snivelly and miserable and running on coffee and Coristina-D;

It’s another repeat challenge, but revisiting old themes keeps them to the fore.

This week refuse to use plastic produce bags. Instead, opt for reusable versions such as cotton mesh which are available at many stores, small canvas totes which you may have around … or no bag at all (not all produce needs to be bagged).

Or …If you routinely avoid plastic bags, please commit to a no-plastic week … yep, no plastic … nothing which is plastic, which comes in plastic packaging and, of course, no plastic bags.

Public Enemy No. 1

Plastic Bags

Many of us have little option. For example I shop in a supermarket for convenience. I shop, and get a frete (like a taxi, but not a taxi) home. I pay R$10  ($5) for the privilege. To go to the sacolão (fruit & vege shop) I have to walk there and back, but remember you can’t carry much when one hand is controlling a walking stick. So I am encumbered, and the supermarket, one stop, does me nicely.

But it comes with a price. Plastic bags for everything. Bananas, plastic bag; potatoes, plastic bag; onions, plastic bag; lemons, plastic bag; ad nauseum. I can’t avoid it, shop/produce security is cited. I do, however, get my goods and their plastic bags packed in old cartons rather than use checkout out bags to compound the problem.

I don’t usually have my reusable shopping bag with me, because I stop of at the supermarket on route from work to avoid an extra bus fare. One hand for the walking stick and the other free to grab the handrails in the bus, because once the driver has your money he becomes a closet Formula One driver; and the chances of ending up on the floor are high. So it is impractical to be otherwise loaded, even with a shoulder bag to control as well.

But I do take my egg carton to the local shop for eggs; one bag saved. When I buy one item, I refuse the plastic bag and carry it home in my hand; another bag saved. Actually, one shop has stopped offering them to me; they think I’m crazy, but I have explained my reasons.

Some good news though. São Paulo, a city of 20 million, has just banned plastic bags in ALL retail outlets effective next year and Rio de Janeiro (12 million) is going to follow suit.

Now for a pet peeve…

*Jumps on his tangent and rides off*

You will probably have noticed that when I use the word ‘fruit‘ in this post, I have used the singular. Why? You may well ask. Because the word ‘fruit‘ does NOT HAVE A PLURAL; it is a singular collective noun. If you want a plural, you should use a quantity, pieces of fruit, pounds of fruit. etc.

Yes, I am an English teacher; yes, I am a grammarian; yes, I love my language and love to see it used correctly. BTW, in the main only Americans use ‘fruits’. In English, the plural is used, but only when your are referring colloquially or derogatorily to a group of homosexual males collectively.

Food for thought.