“waste management challenges in urban ghana: some field observations from the techiman township”

Abstract

For several years solid waste management has been a major challenge for city authorities in most developing countries including Ghana. Techiman, an urban centre in the Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana, is faced with serious solid waste management issues due to population pressures. The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of the waste management challenges in Techiman Township and interrogate the institutional arrangements present. Using in-depth interviews, observation, photography and municipal documents, the presentation will highlight the following; 1.Waste management at the household level. 2.Waste management at the commercial level. 3.Institutional arrangements for collection and disposal. 4.Municipal by-laws, policies and plans. The findings reveal that the solid waste generated in Techiman Township is as a result of two main factors; 1.Techiman as a nerve centre for foodstuffs production and thus a large proportion of the waste generated is agricultural waste. 2.The economic position of Techiman as a big market place for North-South trading activities also generates a lot of waste.