THE NATURE OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
IN GHANA: TOWARDS DATA COLLECTION FOR
GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
K.B. Danso-Manu, kb.dansomanu@statsghana.gov.gh, Ghana Statistical Service
ABSTRACT
Waste management is a major problem facing the government of Ghana as in many
developing countries. This problem is compounded by the fact that there is no adequate data
collection system on solid waste management which does not encourage good management
practice.
The lack of proper land use planning, rapid urbanization, weak institutional capacity and
inadequate funding from central and local government to the sector, hinders effective
sanitation and waste management practices.
The public dump sites are mostly located at the perimeter of major urban centers in open lots,
wetland areas, or next to surface water sources.
Due to uncontrolled urbanization, large quantities of waste are generated daily in Accra and
other urban centers in Ghana, and this exerts much pressure on an over strained solid waste
management system. Coupled with weak institutional capacity, and lack of resources, both
human and capital, the city authorities face difficulties in ensuring that all the waste generated
in the city is collected for proper disposal.
The purpose of this paper is to provide ways of data collection as a foundation for good waste
management practice. The paper is organized into three sections. Section 1 describes the
nature of solid waste management in Ghana, Section 2 looks at the stakeholders in solid waste
management – refuse collectors, district and metropolitan authorities, etc., and the final
section examines how the players and the National Statistical Office can assist in data
collection efforts for good management.
Key words: solid waste management, indiscriminate dumping, sanitation, environmental
impact, data collection.
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1.
THE NATURE OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN GHANA
On a daily basis, each household generates garbage or waste. Items that are no longer needed
or which are not being used fall in the category of waste, and we tend to throw them away.
In the 2000 Population and Housing Census, Ghana’s population was 18.9 million. With an
average daily waste generation per capita of 0.45 kg, Ghana generates annually about 3.0
million tons of solid waste. Accra, the capital, and Kumasi, the second largest city, with a
combined population of about 4 million and a floating population of about 2.5 million
generate over 3,000 tons of solid waste daily.
Solid waste generation levels in the country can be classified into different types depending
on their source:
a) Household waste, public or general waste (in markets, lorry parks, open spaces,
streets, etc.)
b) Industrial waste, (Saw dust/wood shavings, metal scraps, etc).
c) Biomedical waste or hospital waste (Surgical waste, swabs materials, etc).
d) Institutional waste from institutions such as schools, offices, stores, department, etc.
1.1 Where does all the waste we generate go? What happens to it and how does it affect
our lives?
There is more to waste management than collecting rubbish and dumping at landfills,
although this is a vital step in the process. Waste Management flows in a cycle: Monitoring,
Collection, Transportation, Processing, Disposal / Recycle. Through these steps a company
can effectively and responsibly manage waste output and their positive effect they have on the
environment. Home collection of waste is limited to high and some middle income areas
while the poor are left to contend with the problem on their own. This leads to indiscriminate
disposal of waste in surface drains, canals and streams, creating unsanitary and unsightly
environments in many parts of the urban cities in Ghana.
Generally, conditions of waste disposal in Ghana are similar to those in many developing
countries within the tropical climates. The majority of landfills in Ghana are open dumps even
though these are strongly discouraged in the national sanitation policy. The methods for solid
waste disposal in Ghana are: uncontrolled dumping of refuse, controlled dumping, sanitary
land filling, composting, and incineration
According to Anthony Mensah, et al, open refuse dumps are most commonly located at the
perimeter of major urban centres in open lots, wetland areas, or next to surface water sources.
Open dumps are generally sited based on considerations of access to collection vehicles rather
than hydrological or public health considerations. In rural areas and small towns, there are
often no vehicles for collection hence uncontrolled dumping occurs within the built up areas with all its attendant health hazards and negative environmental impact.
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The introduction of plastic bags for packaging instead of degradable materials
such as leaves and paper has seriously aggravated the negative impact of
uncontrolled dumping creating very unsightly conditions.
1.2 Impact of solid waste on the environment and our health
Modernization and progress has had its share of disadvantages and one of the main aspects of
concern is the pollution it is causing to the earth – be it land, air, and water. With increase in
the global population and the rising demand for food and other essentials, there has been a rise
in the amount of waste being generated daily by each household. This waste is ultimately
thrown into municipal waste collection centers from where it is collected by the area
municipalities to be further thrown into the landfills and dumps. However, either due to
resource crunch or inefficient infrastructure, not all of this waste gets collected and
transported to the final dumpsites. As the management and disposal is improperly done, it
causes serious impact on health problems to the surrounding environment.
Waste that is not properly managed, especially excreta and other liquid and solid waste from
households and the community, are a serious health hazard and lead to the spread of
infectious diseases Unattended waste lying around attracts flies, rats, and other creatures that
in turn spread disease. Normally it is the wet waste that decomposes and releases bad odour.
This leads to unhygienic conditions and thereby to a rise in the health problems.
The group at risk from the unscientific disposal of solid waste include – the population in
areas where there is no proper waste disposal method, especially the pre-school children;
waste workers and workers in facilities producing toxic and infectious material. Other highrisk group includes population living close to a waste dump and those, whose water supply
has become contaminated either due to waste dumping or leakage from landfill sites.
Uncollected solid waste also increases risk of injury, and infection.
Uncollected solid waste can also obstruct storm water runoff, resulting in the forming of
stagnant water bodies that become the breeding ground of disease. Waste dumped near a
water source also causes contamination of the water body or the ground water source. Direct
dumping of untreated waste in rivers, seas, and lakes results in the accumulation of toxic
substances in the food chain through the plants and animals that feed on it.
2.
STAKEHOLDERS IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste is managed in Ghana primarily by the one hundred and seventy districts, municipal and
sub-metropolitan authorities. These local authorities have contracted private refuse collectors
to assist in managing waste in their localities.
The current strategy for handling waste in the cities is through privatization. The Sub-Metros
have been divided into zones and private companies have been contracted to collect waste
from the zones. One of such private companies who is playing a major role in waste
management in Ghana is Zoomlion Company Limited; they are present in almost every
district in the country.
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Two systems are currently in place to manage solid waste. These are the Houseto-House Collection in the high class residential areas, and Central Container
Collection in the middle to low-income areas.
a) House-to-House Solid Waste Collection
This is on franchise basis for a monthly fee per house. Households register with the
private refuse collection companies and refuse is collected from the house once or
twice weekly. The households pay the private companies directly and no cost is
attributed to the local authorities under this scheme. However the impact of the
services as well as its efficiency is affected by the scattered nature of the service area.
b) Communal Solid Waste Collection
The Communal Collection System entails the location of metal containers (skips) at
designated sites known as transfer stations, which are shared by a number of houses
within that community. When the skips are full, they are transported and emptied at
final disposal site by skip loading trucks. Where there are no containers, households
deposit their refuse indiscriminately.
3.
DATA COLLECTION FOR GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
Considering the nature of solid waste management in Ghana, how best can data be collected
to be used in good management?
For many waste management projects, success is underpinned by a thorough knowledge of
waste arising. This might include the availability and suitability of the waste feedstock, the
potential for major fluctuations in quality and quantity and continued availability to justify
long term capital investment.
Monitoring and reporting waste management performance requires the establishment of data
collection mechanisms to enable comparison with forecasted levels of achievement and Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs).
To ensure good waste management practices, data should be collected on the amounts and
types of waste generated. However, most National Statistical Offices only collect data on the
method of solid waste (refuse) disposal by households, with the following categories: (i)
Collected, (ii) Burned by household, (iii) Public dump (container), (iv) Public dump (open
space), (v) Dumped indiscriminately (vi) Burned by household.
Data for good waste management should include:
 Types and amounts of waste generated
 Waste movements
 Sources of waste
 Waste profile
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 Capacity of landfill sites
 Location of landfill sites within the communities
 Population sizes of each community
Average waste generated per person per household
In order to plan properly, there is the need to project future trends of waste generation based
on population projections.
The districts, municipal and metropolitan authorities could use their Waste Management
contractors in collecting data for good management, once that service is incorporated in their
contracts. National Statistical Offices (NSO) should institute special surveys on waste
management in their data collection activities. Once data is collected, it can be used in
forecasting and managing waste in our communities. This, I belief, would go a long way to
reduce the pollution of our environment.
References
1. Ghana News Agency (GNA), 2010
2. Jackson , James: Waste Management in Accra, Ghana, 2009
3. Larbi, Eugene : Sanitation Delivery in Ghana
4. Lesley, Rushton: Health hazards and waste management, 2003
5. Mensah, Anthony: FACT SHEET, Solid Waste Disposal (SWD) in Ghana
6. Mensah, Anthony and Larbi, Eugene: , Solid Waste Disposal in Ghana, November 2005
7. Myjoyonline.Com News, http://topics.myjoyonline.com/international/200903/27347.asp
8. WHO / UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation, 2010
(http://www.wssinfo.org/)
9. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/
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