[1] Near the slum called "Old Fadama", the Agbogbloshie site became known as a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap collected from mostly the western world.

The Basel Action Network, a charitable non-governmental organization based in Seattle, has referred to Agbogbloshie as a "digital dumping ground", where millions of tons of e-waste were processed each year.

[10] Whether domestically generated by residents of Ghana or imported, concern remained over the methods of waste processing — especially burning — which release toxic chemicals into the air, land and water.

[8] The electricity from the Akosombo dam increased demand for functional second-hand televisions and computers, which were imported from the West by Africa's technology sector, to help "bridge the digital divide".

The claim that "hundreds of millions of tons of electronic waste are imported to the area each year",[2] as reported by several news sources, is considered by most experts to be utterly ridiculous and preposterous[citation needed].

[17] It is not clear if the United States is[citation needed] the leading exporter of e-waste to Ghana, although imports arrive from other countries such as France, Germany, Korea, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

"[3] Followers of BAN have alleged that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are adding to the waste when excess electronics are donated with the intention of helping scholarly institutions.

[18] They claim, based on the 75%-80% orphaned waste statistic, that exporters must have found numerous loopholes to avoid legislation forbidding e-waste shipping, such as labeling broken electronics as 'end-of-life' or 'second-hand-goods', falsely identifying them as in working order.

[21] The informal e-waste recycling industry is highly hierarchical, with burners, collectors, and dismantlers, often the entry point for young people, representing the "lowest" class.

The Greater Accra Scrap Dealers Association (GASDA), a group formed by the workers themselves, established certain rules and regulations, and even cooperated with the National Youth Authority, a governmental organization.

Photographs from the Agbogbloshie e-waste landfill showed scrap workers burning wires from auto harnesses and plastic-encased electronics to recover copper.

[11][12][20] Poisons such as lead, mercury, arsenic, dioxins, furans, and brominated flame retardants seep into the surrounding soil and water, thereby seriously polluting the landscape.

Greenpeace laboratory tests showed that water and soil from areas in Agbogbloshie had concentrations of chemicals at levels over a hundred times greater than the allowable amounts.

[27] The contamination levels of chlorinated and brominated dioxin-related compounds (DRCs) in the soil of Agbogbloshie were among the highest so far reported from informal e-waste recycling sites.

Concentrations of several other toxic equivalents regularly exceeded acceptable levels set by Japanese, German, or American governments almost three- to sevenfold.

[28] In April 2019, The Guardian reported that a study for IPEN and the Basel Action Network found dangerous levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS) in the eggs of chicken at Agbogbloshie.

[29] The scientific study published by Arnika, IPEN, and CREPD revealed that eggs from backyard farming in Agbogbloshie contained very high concentrations of other persistent organic pollutants, specifically short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), brominated dioxins (PBDD/Fs), hexachlorobenzene, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

The Korle Lagoon, on which Agbogbloshie is situated, had extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen, a result of the large and uncontrolled quantities of domestic and industrial waste being released into the water.

[32] One egg from a free-range chicken in the area was tested and found to have 220 times the amount of chlorinated dioxins (which can cause cancer and damage the immune system) that the European Food Safety Authority considers safe to consume.

[11][18] There is evidence that, because they lack the critical education necessary, electronic waste workers possess little knowledge and awareness about the hazards associated with informal e-waste processing, and some attribute their health issues to other sources, such as malaria or exposure to the sun.

[6] In 2014, the NGO Pure Earth (formally Blacksmith Institute) funded the creation of a Copper Wire Recycling Center within Agbogbloshie, and helped to install several automated machines to simplify the removal of plastic coating and reduce burning.

[39] The E-waste programme was implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit in partnership with Ghanaian Ministry of Environment Science Technology and Innovation (MESTI).