Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Ghana: A Case Study of Accra Metropolitan Assembly

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the challenges to sustainable solid waste management in Ghana using the Accra Metropolitan Assembly as a case study. Solid waste management has several functional elements, including waste generation, waste handling and collection, transfer and transport and final disposal. The role of private waste collection organization is generally believed to be central in managing solid waste in the AMA. The study employed a case study within the qualitative research paradigm. In all seventeen (17) .interviews were conducted for the research. The research findings show that solid waste management in the AMA has been bedeviled with many challenges. These challenges include limited knowledge on systems and technologies for waste management, inadequate funding, lack of equipment for collecting waste, inadequate dumping sites, and absence of decision makers interested in environmental issues. The research therefore, recommends an integrated approach to waste management in the AMA, where all stakeholders are given the opportunity to make inputs into strategies to manage solid waste in the AMA.