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.According to WHO/UNICEF, whilst 91.8% of urban households in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) had access to piped or protected groundwater sources in 2015, only 46.2% had safely managed water available when needed. Vendors provide a key role in supplying urban off-grid populations, with consumption of bottled or bagged water (sachets, water sold in 500ml plastic bags) growing in SSA. Whilst several studies show bottles and bags are usually free from faecal contamination, given that many off-grid urban populations lack solid waste disposal services, when people drink such water, there can be problems disposing of the plastic bags and bottles afterwards. This project aims to deliver evidence on the different ways that people sell water to off-grid populations and what this means for plastic waste management. We plan to do this in Ghana, where most urban household now drink bagged water, and by way of contrast, Kenya, where the government has banned plastic bags. In this way, we want to widen access to safe water and waste management services among urban off-grid populations, by supporting water-sellers and waste collectors to fill the gaps in municipal services. Both countries (and many others elsewhere) already have nationwide household surveys that collect data on the food and goods people consume and the services they have. However, as yet, these surveys have not been connected to the problem of waste management. We plan to visit marketplaces, buying foods and then recording packaging and organic waste. By combining this information with the household survey data, we can work out how much domestic waste like plastics gets collected and how much is discarded or burned, ultimately entering the atmosphere or oceans. In Ghana, we will also survey informal waste collectors in urban Greater Accra. We want to find out how much these small businesses support waste collection and recycling across this urban region (particularly plastic from bagged water), so we can help government identify gaps in waste collection coverage. We also believe highlighting the important role of small waste collectors could lead to greater business support for such collectors. We will also evaluate whether community education campaigns to encourage domestic waste recycling reduce the amount of waste and plastic observed in the local environment. Such campaigns are currently pursued by several local charities with support from the Plastic Waste Management Project. In Kenya, where water is usually sold in jerrycans rather than bagged, the jerrycan water often gets contaminated. We plan to find out whether this jerrycan water is safer under an arrangement known as delegated management. This involves a water utility passing on management of the piped network to a local business in slum areas, so as to reduce vandalism of pipes and bring water closer to slum-dwellers.

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