Increasing Recycling of Water Sachet Plastic Among Ghana’s Off-Grid Urban Populations: A Qualitative Study Among Informal Waste Collectors in Greater Accra, Ghana, 2022

This qualitative data set comprises transcripts from focus group discussions with informal collectors of plastic and general waste in Greater Accra (Ghana). The study aims to determine the extent to which informal waste collectors facilitate waste separation and recycling in off-grid neighbourhoods in Greater Accra. It also aimed to assess the impact of recycled plastic prices and international policy initiatives on businesses in the water sachet recycling chain in Ghana, as well as other barriers to informal waste collector businesses. Though the study employed a convergent parallel design of informal waste collectors within Greater Accra, only the qualitative data (Focus Groups Discussions (FGDs)) are reported in this data set, and quantitative data will be archived separately, as will similar FGDs with waste collectors in Kisumu, Kenya.
The sample size for the qualitative study was 60 participants. This comprised twenty-four (24) main collectors of plastic waste, twenty-four (24) sub-collectors of plastic waste and twelve (12) general waste collectors. Waste collectors who operate in the sample area of the Water and Waste project (i.e., 30 Enumeration Areas located in 14 districts of urban Greater Accra) were considered as the target population for the study.
Six (6) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) [2 FGDs with main collectors only, 2 FGDs with sub-collectors only and 2 FGDs with general waste collectors] were organized to contextualize and explore the contributions of informal waste collectors to waste management and waste recycling in Ghana as well as barriers to informal waste management businesses. FGD topics covered business establishment, business history, waste collection operations, and enablers and barriers to waste collection. Each FGD comprised 6-12 participants. Informed consent was sought from participants before the commencement of data collection.