West Africa has become a landing site for electrical and electronic equipment waste (e-waste), according to an Ericsson official.

According to an EU Commission Report more than 48.9 million tonnes of e-waste is generated globally, and African nations - particularly in the Western region of the continent - are often the dumping grounds for electronic waste.

A report by the United Nations revealed that West Africa faces a rising tide of e-waste generated by domestic consumption as well as the ongoing stream of used equipment from industrialised countries.

The report also revealed that in five countries, namely Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria, between 650,000 and 1 million tonnes of domestic e-waste are generated each year.

Fredrik Jejdling, head of Ericsson sub- Saharan Africa says although there is relatively little e-waste produced in Africa compared to the US and China, the problem in Africa is that a lot of it ends up in West Africa in countries like Ghana.

A report by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) noted that in 2009 around 70% of all electronic imports to Ghana were used, while the remaining 30% was determined to be non-functioning and ended up as e-waste.

Jejdling told ITWeb Africa, "Globally e-waste is a problem."

"In Africa it's a big problem.

"There is relatively less production of e-waste compared to other markets in the world but the big problem is that a lot of it lands in Africa and in Western Africa in particular," he stated.

Back in 2012 Ghana planned to ban imports of used fridges, air-conditioners, television (TV) sets and electric irons.

At the time Ghana's government said the move was to cut back on electronic waste, while also preventing high energy-usage second-hand devices from entering the country.

According to Jejdling raising awareness and preventing e-waste from ending up on the streets is part of Ericsson's social responsibility.

Earlier this month Ericsson set up a pilot project to address the e-waste issues in sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the continent.

The technology communications and services firm partnered with MTN Benin for a 'practical solution' to address the e-waste problem. Ericsson set up a 20 foot container to be the main collection point of e-waste in Benin for a period of two months.