Tackle solid waste management to promote sanitation -Rev. Dr. Amponsah urges
The managing director of AFex Consult, Rev. Dr Richard Amponsah, has called on stakeholders in the sanitation sector to tackle solid waste in order to promote good sanitation in the country.
He said this at the annual Ghana Consulting Engineers Association week celebration held on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at the Ghana Institute of Engineering.
According to him, one of the most pressing environmental issues in Ghana is the problem of perennial flooding phenomenon which has become a disturbing issue, especially in the capital city, Accra.
He attributed the problem to the lack of prosper waste management systems, citing the recent Tema motorway flood case as a classic example.
He noted that the Tema-Accra motorway until recently had never experienced flooding.
However, the current practice of small waste collection motors’ dumping of waste along the stretch and drains of the highway is the direct cause of the floods currently being experienced around the city.
He linked this problem closely to some district assemblies, who in a bid to regulate waste collection in their various districts, set up very low monthly fees for waste collection.
This practice, he said, has discourages private waste collection companies from engaging in the collection of waste in these districts, a situation which has opened up to the intrusion of private individuals use an alternative -motorcycles as waste vehicles.
As a result of transportation and other dump-associated costs, most of these motorcycle operators end up dumping the waste in drains, in a bid to reduce costs.
Statistics
Dr Richard also revealed that research has shown that about 3500 tonnes of waste is generated daily, with about 1000 tonnes being unaccounted for.
This means that about 1000 tonnes of waste do not end up on dumpsites but rather, find their way into various drains and surrounding neighborhoods.
He also revealed that waste management is an expensive venture which requires partnership form both the people and the private sector in order to be fully managed. Also, he added that since everyone generates waste, everyone should be able to help the government pay for the management of the waste created.
Dr Richard suggested that, in order to effectively manage the current waste situation in our country, there must be the creation of more strategic transfer stations to aid in the transfer of waste from one point of the city to the final dump site destinations.
He also suggested that the government should be able to ensure that good landfills, which can last more than 20 years can be provided.
In addition, Dr Richard also said that provision of waste bins will greatly enhance the sanitary conditions in our various communities.
In other developing stories, Universal Plastic Products and Recycling Limited have launched a 1 million Waste Bin project aimed at proving every home and space across the country waste bins to improve the quality of waste management systems in the country.