INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH 
(ISSER) 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
 
 
 
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AWUTU SENYA EAST MUNICIPALITY 
 
 
 
BY 
 
NII OFOLI GAKPO QUARCOO 
(10443624) 
 
 
 
THIS DISSERTATION IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, 
LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE 
AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES 
 
 
 
 
DECEMBER, 2014
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DECLARATION 
I, Nii Ofoli Gakpo Quarcoo, hereby declare that except for references to other people’s 
work which have been duly acknowledged, this thesis is the result of my own research 
carried out at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), 
University of Ghana under the supervision of Dr. Aba Obrumah Crentsil (ISSER). I 
further affirm that this thesis has neither in whole nor in part been published and 
presented for another degree in any institution.  
 
 
 
……………………………………                                    DATE……………………. 
NII OFOLI GAKPO QUARCOO 
                STUDENT  
 
 
 
 
 ……………………………………..                                 DATE ……….…………… 
DR. ABA OBRUMAH CRENTSIL 
              SUPERVISOR 
 
 
 
  
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DEDICATION 
I dedicate this dissertation to my late father; Henry Nii Adu Quarcoo, for his sacrifices 
yet his inability to see this day. Daddy you will forever remain in my heart.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
I wish to express my sincerest appreciation to God Almighty for the grace and mercies to 
complete this project as well as my Master's program. I owe a particular debt of gratitude 
to my supervisor, Dr. Aba Obrumah Crentsil and Professor William Steele for 
thoroughly guiding my work during the course of this research.  Another heartfelt 
gratitude goes to Rev. Dr. Alexis L. Felder for supporting every part of my education. I 
am also grateful to my family, class mates, friends and well-wishers as well as the 
officers at the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly for their cooperation.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ABSTRACT 
The study investigated waste management in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. 
This study sought to critically assess the types of solid waste generated in the Awutu 
Senya Municipal area. It also sought to identify how people disposed of domestic 
waste, how frequently waste was collected and disposed of, the resources that are 
available in collecting the waste generated and challenges faced by Awutu Senya 
Municipal Assembly when it comes to solid waste management. The study was 
particularly carried out at Kasoa. The Mixed methods approach was used in the 
study. A questionnaire survey was conducted whilst in-depth interviews were done 
involving key informants.  Data was collected from households, officers at the 
Municipal Assembly as well as officers of two waste management companies that 
operate in the Municipality. The results revealed that communal skip containers were 
woefully inadequate in Awutu Senya East Municipality. This led to indiscriminate 
disposal of refuse. Indeed, as many as 59.59 % of the households resorted to 
unacceptable methods of waste disposal. Some of the unacceptable waste disposal 
methods included burning of refuse and dumping of refuse into open spaces and 
drains. It was observed that residents in the Municipality do not engage in waste 
separation and only a few (12 %) of the respondents reused some the waste they 
generated. Furthermore, it was observed that the major challenges of solid waste 
management within the Municipality included inadequate financial resources, low 
number of sanitation workers, outdated and limited number of solid waste 
management equipment. It is recommended that the Municipal Assembly should 
consider waste reduction strategies such as the reuse of food waste and other organic 
components of waste to generate compost for use in agriculture.  
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LIST OF ACRONYMS 
AMA           Accra Metropolitan Assembly  
ASEMA         Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly 
CED               Centre for Environment and Development 
CP                 Concrete Product 
DMTDP        District Medium Term Development Plan 
EHSD            Environmental Health and Sanitation Departments 
EPA               Environmental Protection Agency 
ESICOME    Expanded Sanitary Inspection and Compliance Enforcement 
IETC             International Environment Technology Center 
ISWM           Integrated Solid Waste Management  
ISWMM       Integrated Solid Waste Management Model 
LI                  Legislative Instrument 
MLGRD      Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) 
MMDA        Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies 
MSW            Municipal Solid Waste 
MSWM        Municipal Solid Waste Management 
NEMA         National Environmental Management Authority 
NGO            Non-Governmental Organizations 
NIMBY       Not In My Backyard 
SPSS            Statistical Package for Social Sciences 
SW           Solid Waste 
SWM        Solid Waste Management 
UN            United Nations 
UNDP       United Nation Development Program 
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UNEP       United Nations Environmental Programme 
USEPA     United States Environmental Protection Agency 
WHO         World Health Organization 
WMDs      Waste Management Departments (WMDs 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Content           Page 
DECLARATION ................................................................................................................. i 
DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. iii 
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iv 
LIST OF ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................... v 
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. vii 
LIST TABLES .................................................................................................................. xii 
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xiii 
LIST OF PLATES ........................................................................................................... xiv 
 
CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 
1.1 Background of the Study...................................................................................... 1 
1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................... 4 
1.3 Research Questions .............................................................................................. 6 
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study ............................................................................... 6 
1.5 Justification .......................................................................................................... 7 
1.6 Scope of the Study ............................................................................................... 8 
1.7 Limitation of the Study ........................................................................................ 8 
1.8 Organization of the Study .................................................................................... 8 
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CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 10 
LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 10 
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 10 
2.2 Definition of Solid Waste .................................................................................. 10 
2.3 Sources and Types of Solid Waste ..................................................................... 11 
2.4 Components of Solid Waste ............................................................................... 14 
2.5 Solid Waste Management .................................................................................. 16 
2.6 Solid Waste Management Processes .................................................................. 16 
2.6.1 Waste Generation ........................................................................................ 17 
2.6.2 Storage ........................................................................................................ 18 
2.6.3 Collection .................................................................................................... 18 
2.6.4 Transfer and Transport ............................................................................... 19 
2.6.5 Processing and Recovery ............................................................................ 19 
2.6.6 Disposal ...................................................................................................... 19 
2.7 Early Practices of Solid Waste Management ..................................................... 20 
2.8 Contemporary Methods of Managing Solid Waste ............................................ 21 
2.8.1 Source Reduction ........................................................................................ 21 
2.8.2 Sanitary Landfill ......................................................................................... 22 
2.8.3 Recycling .................................................................................................... 23 
2.8.4 Composting ................................................................................................. 24 
2.8.5 Incineration ................................................................................................. 25 
2.8.6 Integrated Solid Waste Management .......................................................... 25 
2.9 Problems of Managing Solid Waste ................................................................... 27 
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2.9.1 Technical Constraints ................................................................................. 27 
2.9.2 Financial Constraints .................................................................................. 27 
2.9.3 Institutional Constraints .............................................................................. 28 
2.10        Solid Waste Management in Ghana ............................................................ 29 
2.10.1 Solid Waste Generation .............................................................................. 30 
2.10.2 Solid Waste Collection ............................................................................... 31 
2.10.3 Solid Waste Disposal .................................................................................. 33 
2.10.4 Waste Management Regulation and Policy ................................................ 34 
2.10.5 Problems of Waste Management in Ghana ................................................ 37 
2.11 Waste Recycling ................................................................................................ 38 
2.12 Conceptual Framework ...................................................................................... 39 
 
CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 42 
PROFILE OF STUDY AREAS AND METHODOLOGY .............................................. 42 
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 42 
3.2 Profile of study area ........................................................................................... 42 
3.2.1 Location and Size of the Awutu Senya East Municipality ......................... 43 
3.2.2 Zonal Councils/Electoral Areas .................................................................. 44 
3.2.3 Major Settlements ....................................................................................... 45 
3.3         Research design............................................................................................... 46 
3.4         Data Collection Instruments ............................................................................ 46 
3.3 Sources of Data .............................................................................................. 47 
3.3.1 Primary Data ............................................................................................... 47 
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3.3.2 Secondary Data ........................................................................................... 47 
3.4 Sample Size ........................................................................................................ 48 
3.5 Sampling Techniques ......................................................................................... 48 
3.6 Procedure ........................................................................................................... 49 
3.7 Ethical Considerations ....................................................................................... 50 
3.8 Data Processing and Analysis ............................................................................ 50 
 
CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................ 52 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ....................................................................................... 52 
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 52 
4.2 Demographic characteristics of Respondents .................................................... 52 
4.2.1 Location of House ....................................................................................... 52 
4.2.2 Age .............................................................................................................. 54 
4.2.3 Sex ............................................................................................................... 54 
4.3 Types of solid waste generated in Awutu-Senya Municipality ......................... 54 
4.4 Waste Management methods: Separation and Reuse ........................................ 57 
4.5 Place of solid waste disposal by households ...................................................... 59 
4.6 Availability of domestic waste management facilities ...................................... 64 
4.7 Influence of Place of Residence on Methods of Waste Disposal ...................... 66 
4.8 Time spent to dispose-off waste......................................................................... 69 
4.9 Door to Door waste Collectors (Kaya Bola) ...................................................... 71 
4.10 Regularity of collection ...................................................................................... 71 
4.11 Challenges facing Solid Waste Management ..................................................... 73 
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4.12 Willingness to pay for Disposal ......................................................................... 74 
4.13 Summary of Findings ......................................................................................... 74 
 
CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................. 75 
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................... 77 
5.1     Summary of findings .............................................................................................. 77 
5.2 Conclusions............................................................................................................ 78 
5.3 Recommendations .................................................................................................. 79 
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 81 
APPENDIX : QUESTIONNAIRES ................................................................................. 88 
 
 
 
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LIST TABLES 
Table 2.1: Typical Waste Generation Facilities, Activities, and Locations Associated 
with various Sources of Solid Waste ............................................................... 12 
Table 4 1: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents ................................................. 53 
Table 4.2: Summary of the most Domestic Solid Waste Generated in Awutu-Senya 
Municipality ....................................................................................................... 55 
Table 4.3:  Distribution of Respondents Reuse of Solid Waste ....................................... 58 
Table 4 4:  Distribution of Communal Skips within the Municipal Capital ..................... 64 
Table 4.5: Cross tabulation of Place of Residence and disposal of waste by households 68 
Table 4.6: Chi-Square Tests on the influence of Place of Residence and method of waste 
disposal by households ...................................................................................... 69 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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LIST OF FIGURES 
Figure 2.1: Key Elements of Solid Waste Management ................................................... 17 
Figure 2. 2: Model of the ISWM. ..................................................................................... 26 
Figure 2.3:  Waste Disposal of Households in Ghana, 2004 ............................................ 34 
Figure 2.4:  Conceptual Framework ................................................................................. 40 
Figure 3.1: Awutu Senya East in the Regional Context ................................................... 44 
Figure 3.2: Zonal Councils/Electoral Areas in Awutu-Senya Municipal Assembly ........ 45 
Figure 4.1: Summary of the place of disposal of solid waste among the respondents ..... 59 
Figure 4.2: How long it takes to dispose-off refuse in the skip containers ...................... 70 
Figure 4.3: Regularity of waste collection ........................................................................ 72 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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LIST OF PLATES 
Plate  1: Plate Showing On-Street Dumping of Solid within Kasoa Township .............. 61 
Plate  2: Indiscriminate Waste Dumping resulting in Choking of Storm Drain by 
Solid Waste in Kasoa Township ..................................................................... 62 
Plate  3: Picture showing the practice of open dumping of solid waste at Ofankor, 
Kasoa ............................................................................................................... 66 
Plate  4: Photograph Showing Overflowing Skips at the Kasoa Market Area ................ 73 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER ONE 
INTRODUCTION 
1.1 Background of the Study 
The Ghana Living Standards Survey (2014) shows that more than half (52.4%) of 
households in Ghana dispose of their rubbish at a public dump while 12.8 percent 
dispose of them indiscriminately. According to the same survey, less than one-fifth 
(18.2%) of households have their rubbish collected. Consistent with the Ghana Living 
Standards Survey report, The World Health Organization (2010) estimated that at least 
50 percent of the populations in Ghana reside in urban areas of which only 18 percent 
have access to improved sanitation and 90 percent have access to improved drinking 
water sources. Osumanu (2008), in a research paper, indicated that the provision of water 
and sanitation services in poor urban areas remains a critical challenge for the realization 
of the Millennium Development Goals. Larbi (2006) also stated that poor access to 
improved water and sanitation in Ghana is attributed to a number of reasons which 
include weak sector policies, lack of political will, weak local government capacity and 
inadequate financing. 
 
Farvacque-Vitkovic, Madhu, Eghoff and Boakye (2008) asserted that by 2010, more than 
half of Ghana’s population will be living in urban areas, with urbanization expected to 
reach 65 percent by 2030. This prediction has been confirmed by the 2010 Population 
and Housing Census which indicated that approximately 50.9 % of Ghanaians live in 
urban areas (Ghana Statistical Service, 2012). Also, the most recent population and 
housing census has indicated that the housing stocks of various regions have also 
increased with the national rate being 55.5 %. The Central region for instance has 
witnessed approximately 55.3% increase in its housing stock and majority of these new 
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houses are located in upspring communities closer to old towns like Kasoa (Ghana 
Statistical Service, 2012).  
 
Chati (2012) indicated that in the olden days, waste management across the world did not 
pose many problems because of the smaller populations sizes in communities. It has 
however become problematic due to the large masses of people in the towns, and 
sprawling communities and cities where the problem is serious. Urban sprawls, poor 
financing capacity of local authorities, low technical capacity for planning and 
management of solid waste and weak enforcement of environmental regulations have 
significantly contributed to compounding the difficulties associated with waste 
management (Chati, 2012). For instance, the weak implementation of environmental 
regulations has allowed individuals and local authorities to flout environmental 
regulations without any sanctions.  
 
Shafiul and Mansoor (2003) defined solid waste as any material which comes from 
diverse sources including domestic, commercial, and industrial. Solid waste is usually 
the remnants of human activities and has no value to people who possess them and hence 
can be discarded as useless. According to Ogbonna et al (2002), as a result of increasing 
population and increased consumption of variety of products and its associated 
packaging, there are heaps of solid wastes along roads stream channels, riverbanks and in 
open spaces. Also, Bussinessdictionary.com defined solid waste management as 
systematic control of generation, collection, storage, transport, source separation, 
processing, treatment, recovery, and disposal of solid waste. Another definition by 
Zerbock (2003) stated that it is the source separation, storage, collection, transportation 
and final disposal of waste in an environmentally sustainable manner. From the above 
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definitions, it means that in an effort to manage solid waste, there needs to be a 
deliberate methodical effort that will be aimed at controlling how solid waste is 
generated, stored, collected, and transported as well as, how it is treated either for final 
disposal or reuse.  
 
Available literature indicate that significant proportion of solid waste generated are not 
collected and thus end up in open spaces and drains (Monney et. al 2013). Studies have 
shown that, in Accra and Kumasi, the two largest cities in Ghana, over 3,000tons of solid 
waste is generated daily out of which approximately 70% is collected (Anomanyo 2004; 
Ketibuah 2004; Mensah and Larbi 2005).The health implications of poor waste 
management can be very damaging to the people exposed to these unsanitary conditions. 
These effects of poor waste management include flooding, water pollution, spread of 
diseases and ugly sights of stinking and pest-infested piles of solid waste in some parts of 
urban areas (Boadi and  Kuitunen 2004; Puopiel 2010). 
 
The collection, transfer and disposal of waste have been generally assumed by city 
authorities in both the developed and developing countries. This constitutes a basic and 
expected government function. The format varies in most urban areas where solid waste 
is collected either by a government agency or private contractor. The problems caused by 
solid waste in urban Africa is largely due to the explosive growth rates, particularly in 
sub-Saharan Africa, which eventually translates into generation of copious amounts of 
solid waste (UN-HABITAT 2010; Taiwo, 2011). Despite the fact that developing 
countries do spend about 20 to 40 per cent of metropolitan revenues on waste 
management, they are unable to keep pace with the scope of the problem (Zerbock, 
2003). Ogwueleka (2009) indicated that what accounts for this is that city authorities 
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lack the financial and technical resources to keep pace with the challenges associated 
with huge amounts of solid waste (Ogwueleka, 2009). Consequently, heaps of solid 
wastes are not uncommon sights in these areas.  
 
1.2 Problem Statement 
According to Senkoro (2003) the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified solid 
waste as the second most important problem after water quality among other 
environmental health concerns. Farvacque-Vitkovic, et.al (2008) argued that the current 
rapid and largely uncontrolled urban growth is stressing capacity to efficiently deliver 
infrastructure and services and is resulting in urban sprawl and inefficient use of land. 
According to the World Bank (2000), as cited in White et. al. (2007) a peculiar problem 
of cities in Africa is that the governing bodies are not able to adequately deal with waste 
and sanitation. In addition to that the cities are not serving as engines of growth and 
structural transformation as the case may be in developed countries, thus, it is a huge 
burden on cities to provide economic and social opportunities for its inhabitants.  
 
According to the World Bank (2012) there is an obvious sanitation problem in Ghana. 
This was revealed in a report released in 2012 by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation 
Program (WSP), Ghana’s economy loses 420 million Ghanaian Cedis each year 
(US$290 million, that is 1.6 percent of GDP), due to poor sanitation. The desk study 
titled Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Africa - Ghana, found that the majority 
(74 percent) of these costs come from the annual premature death of 19,000 Ghanaians 
from diarrheal disease, including 5,100 children under the age of 5, nearly 90 percent of 
which is directly attributable to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene. The study also found 
4.8 million Ghanaians have no latrine at all and defecate in the open (World Bank, 
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2012).  
 
For many years, waste disposal has been a major problem for many communities in 
Ghana. There is indiscriminate dumping, irregular collection of waste generated and 
inadequate resources which constitute the key problems facing solid waste management 
in many district, municipalities and metropolitan authorities including Awutu Senya East 
Municipal Assembly (ASEMA). According to the Ministry of Finance, it is estimated 
that about 900 tons of waste is generated daily in the Awutu Senya East Municipal 
Assembly. Out of this, only 300 tons is hauled every day leaving a backlog of 600 tons 
uncollected a day (www.mofep.gov.gh).  
 
As a result of the under collection of the waste that is generated, there is significant 
littering and heaping of waste on the streets of the Awutu Senya East Municipal 
Assembly and most especially, the Municipal Capital, Kasoa. The sight of skips that are 
overflowed with waste within the municipality is also a common phenomenon. More so, 
the proliferation of polythene bags for packaging food and non-items has seriously 
goaded the situation in the study area. This makes many residential areas filthy and 
unattractive for living. Consequently, there is the possibility of the outbreak of 
communicable diseases such as cholera and typhoid if the situation is left unchecked. 
This may adversely affect people exposed to these unsanitary conditions. Hence this 
study intends to examine the solid waste management practices in the Awutu Senya East 
Municipal Assembly. The choice of Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly was 
occasioned by the fact that it is a new district and that all previous studies of solid waste 
management practices in urban areas focused on major cities in Ghana including Accra, 
Kumasi and WA.  
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1.3 Research Questions 
The research therefore seeks to establish the causes of this problem by answering the 
following questions: 
 What types of solid waste are generated in the Awutu Senya East Municipal 
Assembly? 
 How do people dispose of their domestic waste? 
 How frequently is the waste collected and disposed of? 
 What resources are available in collecting the waste generated? 
 What are the challenges facing the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly in solid 
waste management? 
 Does the residential location of people within the municipality influence the method 
of waste disposal?  
 
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study 
The main aim of the study is to examine the factors affecting effective solid waste 
management in the ASEMA and suggest possible measures to tackle the problem. 
Specifically, the research aims at achieving the following objectives: 
 To assess the types and components of solid waste generated in the Awutu Senya 
East Municipal Assembly.  
 To examine the methods of waste disposal by households (place of disposal) in the 
district. 
 To investigate the frequency of solid waste collection and disposal in the 
municipality. 
 To explore the challenges faced by the Awutu Senya East Municipal authorities in   
solid waste management 
 To examine the influence of location on the methods of waste disposal.  
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1.5 Justification 
The problem and difficulties associated with solid waste management in Ghanaian cities 
are not peculiar to the country but cut across Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing 
countries. Sanitation management in various urban and peri-urban environments has 
become an international concern as the phenomenon transcends all aspects of human life. 
It has been identified that Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly has problems when it 
comes to the management of solid waste (www.mofep.gov). This deserves not only the 
attention of the municipal assembly and the waste management institutions but also 
concerns of corporate organizations and individuals to find a lasting solution to the 
problem. This is because the ramifications solid waste management which include 
flooding, water pollution, spread of diseases and ugly sights of stinking and pest-infested 
piles of solid waste in some parts of urban areas (Boadi & Kuitunen 2004) are likely to 
impact negatively on the lives of the residents. This may affect the readiness of investors 
to put their much cherished resources into ventures in communities that are not clean. 
The study therefore intends to explore appropriate strategies and recommendations in 
managing solid waste in all places within the municipality in a sustainable manner. 
Despite the immensity of the problem, very little research on solid waste management 
has been carried out in the municipality. The current study therefore will serve as a 
reference point to the municipal assembly and waste management institutions as far as 
solid waste management is concerned. In this case, it will give them an in-depth 
understanding of what the problems of solid waste management are and the strategies to 
tackle the problems. Additionally, the study will contribute to the existing body of 
knowledge on solid waste management and also stimulate further research on the subject 
in other municipal and metropolitan areas in Ghana. Academically, the results of the 
study will be useful for future studies on urban sprawl and sanitation issues.   
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1.6 Scope of the Study 
Geographically, the study was conducted in Awutu-Senya East Municipal Assembly 
(ASEMA) in the Central Region of Ghana. This municipality is among the top rapidly 
growing communities in Ghana (Ministry of Finance, 2014). Data was collected from 
individuals from households, waste management companies, individual waste collectors 
(Kaaya Boola), waste management department of the municipality and the municipal 
finance officer (s). This study focuses on the methods used by the municipal assembly’s 
waste management companies to manage solid waste that is generated within the 
municipality. Previous studies from other parts of the world were reviewed to ascertain 
how urban sprawl cities have been managed using similar approaches. Various theories 
on urban growth and human settlement development were also reviewed and assessed to 
establish their application or otherwise in Ghana. 
 
1.7 Limitation of the Study 
The study was conducted in the Awutu Senya Municipality. The conditions prevailing in 
this municipality may not be similar to that of other municipalities in the Central Region 
and Ghana as a whole. This means that the findings of the research may not be applicable 
in other regions in Ghana.  
 
1.8 Organization of the Study 
The study has five main chapters. The first chapter provides the general introduction to 
the research and it analyses the extent of the problem of waste management in Awutu 
Senya East Municipality. The chapter also addresses the significance of the study, 
background information and the statement of the problem. Furthermore, it the chapter 
outlines the questions the study seeks to answer and the objectives to be achieved, the 
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justification for doing the study. The second chapter reviews literature about the subject 
from various sources. The literature review looks at waste management challenges in 
urban settlements in Africa and other parts of the world. That is concepts, processes and 
methods of managing solid waste. Based on the literature review, a conceptual 
framework that seeks to explain waste management was developed. The third chapter 
gives a profile of Awutu-Senya East Municipal Assembly which is the location in which 
the study was conducted. This included the history, population and housing 
characteristics as well as cultural values and their relationship with solid waste 
generation and management. It further spells out the methodology used to carry out the 
entire study including research design, sampling techniques, data sources and means of 
analysis and presentation. The fourth Chapter presents the results and the discussion of 
the findings from the analyses of the data obtained from the research field. Descriptive 
statistical tools such as frequency tables, bar charts and pie charts were used in the 
presentation of the results. Chapter five presents the summary of key findings, 
conclusions drawn from the study and the recommendations for solid waste management 
and future research.  
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CHAPTER TWO 
LITERATURE REVIEW 
2.1 Introduction 
This chapter explores literature on solid waste management. It examines key concepts, 
methods and problems of waste management in municipalities, districts and metropolis 
across the world. The chapter concludes with the summary of key lessons learnt from the 
review and a conceptual framework that guides the study.  
 
2.2 Definition of Solid Waste 
There are varied definitions of the term solid waste. Tchobanoglous, Theisen, and Vigil 
(1993) indicated that solid waste includes materials that arise from both human and 
animal activities and they are normally discarded because they are no longer needed. 
And these useless materials (solid waste), according to Zerbock (2003), comprises of 
commercial, non-hazardous industrial, and domestic waste. Examples of these solid 
wastes are household organic trash, institutional garbage, construction wastes and street 
sweepings. Another definition given by Ghana Innovation Market Place [GIM] (2009) 
posited that solid waste does not include atmospheric emissions and wastewater 
discharges which may arise from commercial, industrial, institutional and domestic 
activities. That is any form of waste that is neither liquid nor gaseous. Solid waste is the 
unwanted or useless solid materials generated from combined residential, industrial and 
commercial activities in a given area. 
 
From the above definitions, solid waste can operationally be defined as materials that 
may come from domestic, commercial, and industrial sources and they result from 
human actions or activities and may have no value to people who own them and 
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therefore are thrown away as useless. It is important however, to note that significant 
amount of these waste materials could be recycled into useable materials and hence not 
all waste materials are useless.  
 
2.3 Sources and Types of Solid Waste 
As shown in the definitions above, there are different categories of solid waste and many 
researchers have classified solid waste based on  these categories. Solid waste may be 
categorized according to its origin (example domestic, industrial, commercial, 
construction or institutional); according to its contents (example organic material, glass, 
metal, plastic paper); or according to hazard potential (example toxic, non-toxin, 
flammable, radioactive and infectious). Tchobanoglous et. al. (1993) have categorized 
solid waste according to sources, the facilities that generate the waste, the types of 
activities that generate the waste, and the locations associated with the type of waste. 
This classification is presented in Table 2.1. 
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Table 2.1:  Typical Waste Generation Facilities, Activities, and Locations 
Associated with various Sources of Solid Waste 
Source Typical location Types of solid Waste 
Residential  Single-family and multifamily dwellings, 
low-medium, and high-rise apartments. 
Food wastes, rubbish, ashes, 
special wastes 
Commercial/  
Municipal  
Stores, restaurants, markets, office 
buildings, hotels, motels, print shops, auto 
repair shops, medical facilities and 
institutions. 
Food wastes, rubbish, ashes, 
demolition and construction 
wastes, special wastes, 
occasionally hazardous wastes 
Industrial  Construction, fabrication, light and heavy 
manufacturing, refineries, chemical plants, 
lumbering, mining, demolition. 
Food wastes, rubbish, ashes, 
demolition and construction 
wastes, special wastes, 
occasionally hazardous 
wastes. 
Open areas  Streets, alleys, parks, vacant plots, 
playgrounds, beaches, highway and 
recreational areas. 
Special wastes, rubbish 
Treatment plant  
sites  
Water, wastes water, and industrial 
treatment processes. 
Treatment plant wastes, 
principally composed of 
residual sludge 
Agricultural  Field and row crops, orchards, vineyards, 
dairies, feedlots and farms. 
Spoiled food wastes, 
agricultural wastes, rubbish, 
hazardous wastes 
Source: Tchobanoglous et. al. 1993 p.52-53  
 
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In addition to the above classification of waste, Tchobanoglous et. al. (1993) also 
identified forms of solid waste and grouped them into food waste, rubbish, ashes and 
residues and special waste. Each of these forms of solid waste has been explained in the 
ensuing paragraphs.  
Food waste: Tchobanoglous et al (2008) stated that food wastes include all animal, plant 
and vegetable residues which may result from preparation, cooking and eating of foods. 
One important feature of food wastes is that they are exceedingly putrescible and in 
warm weather, they decompose very quickly. Regularly, offensive odors may be 
developed as a result of the decomposition. The rapid decomposition nature of food 
waste usually influence the design and operation of the solid waste collection.  
Rubbish: The composition of rubbish is combustible and non- combustible solid wastes 
which are generated from institutions, commercial activities and households. It excludes 
food wastes or other extremely perishing materials. Typical combustible rubbish includes 
of items such as plastics, paper, rubber, textiles, cardboard, wood, garden trimmings 
leather and furniture. In addition, the non-combustible rubbish comprises of dirt, ferrous 
and non-ferrous metal, glass, tin cans, and aluminum cans.  
Ashes and Residues: Tchobanoglous et. al. (1993) indicated that ashes and residues are 
materials that are left from the burning of wood, coal, coke and other combustible wastes 
industrial, institutions and domestic settings. The purposes of burning these items include 
heating, cooking and disposing off the waste materials and the remains after the burning 
process are to generate ashes and residues. 
Special waste: The items included in the list of special waste are roadside litter, litter 
from municipal containers, catch-basin debris, street sweepings, and abandoned vehicles 
and dead animal (Tchobanoglous et al., 1993). 
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In addition to the classification of solid waste by Tchobanoglous et. al. (1993; 2008), the 
Centre for Environment and Development [CED] (2003) has also categorized solid waste 
types on three main grounds. The first basis is on the source (for example food waste, 
ashes and residues, rubbish, demolition and construction, agriculture waste). The second 
classification is based on features of the material (biodegradable and non-biodegradable) 
while the third classification is based on the risk potential (hazardous waste). Further, the 
center enumerated sources of solid waste as residential, waste from shops, commercials 
establishment, hotels/restaurants/eating stalls, slaughter houses and others. It is obvious 
that the CED classification is akin to the sources and types categorization done by 
Tchobanoglous et al (1993). On the grounds of types of solid waste enumerated by 
Tchobanoglous et al (1993) and the Centre for Environment and Development (2003), 
solid waste largely includes the following items: food waste, rubbish, ashes and residues, 
demolition and construction, and agriculture waste. The sources of solid waste also 
include domestic, commercial and industrial. 
 
2.4 Components of Solid Waste 
Tchobanoglous and Kreith (2002) indicated that an understanding of the characteristics 
of the waste stream is a must in any solid waste management system. According to 
Cheremisinhoff (2003), this is helpful to municipalities in determining the best 
management methods for different materials, planning recycling and recovery 
programmes, purchasing equipment etc.  
 
Boadi and Kuitunen (2003) stated that as in most developing cities, solid waste in most 
cities of Ghana has a high putrescible organic content. Asomani-Boateng and Haight 
(1999) also stated that organic fraction composes of kitchen waste including food 
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leftovers, rotten fruits, vegetables, leaves, crop residues, animal excreta and bones. 
Plastics, glass, metals, and paper account for less than 15 percent of the total waste. High 
organic and moisture contents coupled with prevailing high temperatures necessitate 
frequent removals, which place additional burden on an over strained collection system. 
When the waste is not collected in time it emanates a foul smell especially in low income 
areas where the waste is often mixed with human waste due to inadequate sanitation 
facilities (Boadi and Kuitunen, 2003). 
 
Hai (2005) alludes to the fact that information about physical and chemical properties of 
solid waste is important in evaluating equipment needs, systems and management 
programs and plans, especially with respect to the implementation of disposal and 
resource and energy recovery options. Characterization of waste is also important to 
determine its possible environmental impacts. The waste components, although vary 
widely with the location and season of the year, include food wastes, paper, plastic, 
cloths, metal, glass, construction materials and others (Dhaka City Corporation, 1999). 
 
There are varied components of solid waste. These include materials that can burn and 
those that cannot; material that are recyclable and others that are non-recyclable. From 
this background, it is obvious that a comprehensive appreciation of the content of solid 
waste will give direction to the methods that can be used to manage the waste. As stated 
earlier, solid waste is made of materials that are combustibles and non-combustible. 
Some of the combustible materials are yard debris, plastics, food waste, paper, 
disposable diapers, textiles, wood, and other organic materials. On the other hand, 
examples of non-combustibles are metal, glass, leather, aluminum and bones (Kreith 
1994; Zerbock, 2003). 
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2.5 Solid Waste Management 
Many researchers have varied views on what the definition of term solid waste 
management should be. Kumah (2007) describes the term as “the administration of 
activities that provide for the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, 
transfer, processing, treatment, and disposal of waste”. In a more comprehensive 
definition, Tchobanoglous et. al. (1993), stated that solid waste management. “.....that 
discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and 
transport, processing and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that is in accord with the 
best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics and 
other environmental considerations and that is also responsive to public attitudes”. 
 
In that vein, the essential aspects and relationships involved must be identified and 
understood clearly if solid waste management is to be accomplished in an efficient and 
methodical manner (Tchobanoglous et. al, 1993). On this foundation, it implies that solid 
waste management must incorporate the following: source, storage, collection, 
transportation and disposal of solid waste in an environmentally sustainable manner.  
 
2.6 Solid Waste Management Processes 
As shown in Figure 2.1, the key elements in solid waste management include: waste 
generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and recovery and final 
disposal. This means that when waste is generated it is first stored in either dustbins or 
skips at the point of generation. It is then collected, transported and finally disposed of in 
landfill. Also, when waste is collected it can be transferred from small collection 
equipment like the tricycle to a bigger truck for final disposal. On the other hand, waste 
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collected can be processed and recovered in the form of materials or instruments to be 
reused. These elements are further elaborated in the following section.  
 
 
Figure 2.1: Key Elements of Solid Waste Management 
 
 
Source: Puopiel, 2010; Pg 12 
 
2.6.1 Waste Generation 
Waste generation encompasses those activities in which materials are identified as no 
longer being of value and are either thrown away or gathered together for disposal 
(Momoh and Oladebeye, 2010). According to United Nations Environment Program 
(2009), in 2006 the total amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated globally 
reached 2.02 billion tones, representing a 7 per cent annual increase since 2003. It is 
further estimated that between 2007 and 2011, global generation of municipal waste will 
rise by 37.3 per cent, equivalent to roughly 8 per cent increase per year (UNEP, 2009). 
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The program also says that, as per WHO estimations, the total health-care waste per 
person per year in most low income countries, is anywhere from 0.5 kg to 3 kg. That 
notwithstanding, the causes of this increased should have enumerated by the organization 
and therefore, has not exhausted the issue on discussion. It is accepted that solid waste 
generation is increasing at a faster rate globally as indicated by UNEP and this is 
confirmed by Mensah and Larbi (2005) concerning solid waste generation in Ghana. 
 
2.6.2 Storage 
Tchobanoglous et. al. (1977) explains storage to mean where solid waste is stored before 
it is collected. It could be stored in a skip or dustbins and not thrown away 
indiscriminately. According to them, storage is of primary importance because of the 
aesthetic consideration. 
 
2.6.3 Collection 
The element of collection includes not only the gathering of solid waste, but also the 
hauling of waste after collection to the location where the collection vehicle is emptied 
(Kreith, 1994). According to Kreith (1994), the most common type of residential 
collection services in the United States of America (USA) include “curb”, “setout-
setback” and “backyard carry”. According to a study commissioned by the United States 
Postal Services [USPS] (2000), in the city of Thimphu in Bhutan the collection of solid 
waste from households, commercial set-ups was done in concrete receptacles placed at 
strategic points and conveyed by trucks/tractors. Accordingly, there were concrete bins 
and containers provided at various locations from where the waste was lifted for 
disposal. Individual bins/containers were also placed alongside the shops in certain areas, 
which were emptied directly into the trucks/tippers. This prevents people from dumping 
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waste indiscriminately. Even though this is a very commendable practice, the building of 
these concrete bins and containers may be expensive to do in Ghana and for that matter 
ASEMA. 
 
2.6.4 Transfer and Transport 
According to Kreith (1994), transfer and transport involves two steps. The first step 
involves transfer of wastes from the smaller collection vehicle to the larger transport 
equipment while the second step involves the subsequent transport of the wastes, usually 
over long distances to the final disposal site. 
 
2.6.5 Processing and Recovery 
The element of processing and recovery includes all the technology, equipment, and 
facilities used both to improve the efficiency of other functional elements and to recover 
usable materials, conversion products or energy from solid wastes (Tchobanoglous et al, 
1977). Tchobanoglous et al (1993) further indicated that in the recovery, separation 
operations have been devised to recover valuable resources from the mixed solid wastes 
delivered to transfer stations or solid waste processing plants. 
 
2.6.6 Disposal 
It is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes whether they are residential wastes collected and 
transported directly to landfill site. Having explained the various elements in the 
diagram, the subsequent section analyses in detail the final disposal methods of solid 
waste. Several methods of solid waste management have evolved over the years. These 
methods according to the Centre for Environment and Development (2003) vary greatly 
with types of wastes and local conditions. For the purpose of this analysis, this section is 
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divided into early practices of managing solid waste and contemporary methods of waste 
management systems. 
 
2.7 Early Practices of Solid Waste Management 
According to Tchobanoglous et al (1993: 17-18), the most commonly recognized 
methods for the final disposal of solid wastes include dumping on land, canyons and 
mining pits; dumping in water; ploughing into the soil; feeding to hogs; and reduction 
and incineration. Present day research and experience have shown that some of these 
methods of solid waste disposal are actually unhealthy. However, some of these methods 
are still being used in villages, towns and even cities in Ghana today. Indiscriminate 
dumping on opened land and dumping in gutters particularly are clearly evident in towns 
and cities, while dumping in water especially people living in coastal towns is common. 
The burning of dumps is also common in peri-urban and rural communities in Ghana and 
in many other less developed countries (Farvacque-Vitkovic, et al (2008).  
 
A study carried out in Ado-Akiti in Nigeria by Momoh and Oladebeye (2010) showed 
that, the methods of solid waste disposal included dumping of waste in gutters, drains, by 
roadside, unauthorized dumping sites and stream channels during raining season and 
burning of wastes on unapproved dumping sites during the dry season. This has gone to 
confirm that the practices of solid waste disposal in the 1950s still exist today. On the 
other hand, Momoh and Oladebeye’s (2010), assessment of waste situation in Ado-Akiti 
in Nigeria is questionable as they did not further explain what brought about the 
indiscriminate dumping. It could be that people dumped the waste any how because they 
were no skips or dustbins for the people to store their waste for collection.  
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2.8 Contemporary Methods of Managing Solid Waste 
According to Denison and Ruston (1990), in this contemporary era, the methods of 
managing solid waste include source reduction, sanitary landfills, composting, recycling, 
and incineration.  The following sub-sections discussed some of these contemporary 
methods.  
 
2.8.1 Source Reduction 
Denison and Ruston (1990) viewed source reduction as any action that reduces the 
volume or toxicity of solid waste prior to its processing and disposal in incinerators or 
landfills. This view is similar to the one given by Kreith (1994). According to him, 
source reduction focuses on reducing the volume and /or toxicity of waste generated. 
Source reduction includes the switch to reusable products and packaging, the most 
familiar example being returnable bottles. According to USPS (2000) in the city of 
Thimphu in Bhutan to reduce waste problems in future, reduction in waste generation 
would be the most important factor. Examples of possible reduction at the consumption 
level include reuse of containers (including bags), better buying habits, and cutting down 
on the use of disposable products and packaging ( USPS, 2000). 
It is agreed that, source separation and resource recovery is an important method in waste 
management. This is because there is nothing like waste on this earth. Wastes that are 
discharged may be of significant value in another setting, but they are of little or no value 
to the possessor who wants to dispose of it. According to Tsiboe and Marbel (2004), 
Austria, the Netherlands, and Denmark developed a waste management processes to 
efficiently resolve the waste disposal problem by essentially coaxing their citizens to 
separate their domestic solid waste into glass, paper, plastic categories; thereby enabling 
easy collection and consequently reuse. As suggested by the three authors, one way of 
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effectively managing solid waste is to minimize solid waste generation through source 
reduction. 
 
2.8.2 Sanitary Landfill 
Sanitary land filling includes confining the waste, compacting and covering with soil. It 
not only prevents burning of garbage but also helps in reclamation of land for valuable 
use (Centre for Environment and Development, 2003). The placement of solid waste in 
landfills is the oldest and definitely the most prevalent form of ultimate waste disposal 
(Zerbock, 2003). He further argued that “landfills” are nothing more than open, 
sometimes controlled dumps. According to him the difference between landfills and 
dumps is the level of engineering, planning, and administration involved. Open dumps 
are characterized by the lack of engineering measures, no leachate management, no 
consideration of landfill gas management, and few, if any, operational measures such as 
registration of users, control of the number of “tipping fronts” or compaction of waste 
(Zerbock, 2003). Furthermore, landfills are one form of waste management that nobody 
wants but everybody needs (Kreith, 1994) According to him, there are simply no 
combinations of waste management techniques that do not require land filling to make 
them work. Of the basic management options of solid waste, landfills are the only 
management technique that is both necessary and sufficient. According to Kreith (1994) 
some wastes are simply not recyclable, many recyclable wastes eventually reach a point 
where their intrinsic value is completely dissipated and they no longer can be recovered, 
and recycling itself produces residuals. He further highlighted that the technology and 
operation of modern land fill can assure the protection of human health and the 
environment. 
 
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In contrast to what the various authors have said about sanitary landfill as an option for 
waste management, they have failed to recognize that land fill in itself has some 
disadvantages as it is costly to construct and maintain, can pollute ground water through 
leaching, location is a problem in terms of availability of land particularly in the cities. 
Other critical factors such as gas recovery, composting, waste to energy recovery, storm 
water control, distance to any settlement and water body were not clearly spelt out by the 
authors. Therefore, there could be an alternative which is recycling.  
 
2.8.3 Recycling 
According to Momoh and Oladebeye (2010) recycling has been viewed as a veritable 
tool in minimizing the amount of household solid wastes that enter the dump sites. It also 
provides the needed raw materials for industries. According to them, it has been 
established that, it is the best, efficient and effective method of solid waste management 
system. However, this may not be cost effective in developing countries like Ghana. The 
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (1999) has recommended 
recovery for recycling as one of the most effective waste management techniques. 
According to USEPA, recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into 
valuable resources and, it yields environmental, financial, and social returns in natural 
resource conservation, energy conservation, pollution prevention, and economic 
expansion and competitiveness. More importantly, a sizeable portion of what is thrown 
away contains valuable resources—metals, glass, paper, wood, and plastic—that can be 
reprocessed and used again as raw materials (USEPA, 1999). 
 
  
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Kreith (1994) has also added that, recycling is the most positively perceived and doable 
of all the waste management options. According to him recycling will return raw 
materials to market by separating reusable products from the rest of the municipal waste 
stream. The benefits of recycling are many, he added. It saves precious finite resources, 
lessens the need for mining of virgin materials which lowers the environmental impact 
for mining and processing. For example, according to the Institute of Waste Management 
cited by Tsiboe and Marbel (2004), UK recycles only 11per cent of its household waste, 
Italy and Spain only 3 per cent, Netherlands 43 per cent, Denmark 29 per cent, and 
Austria 50 per cent respectively. Having proposed recycling by different authors as the 
best option to manage solid waste in modern times; they have forgotten about the cost 
component which is important to successful implementation of any recycling project. 
Even developed countries are not able to successfully do it. But alternatively, it may be 
the best option for effectively managing solid waste in Ghana. 
 
2.8.4 Composting 
Composting process uses microorganisms to degrade the organic content of the waste. 
Aerobic composting proceeds at a higher rate and converts the heterogeneous organic 
waste materials into homogeneous and stable humus (Centre for Environment and 
Development, 2003: 9). UNEP (2009) has also defined composting as a biological 
decomposition of biodegradable solid waste under controlled predominantly aerobic 
conditions to a state that is sufficiently stable for nuisance-free storage and handling and 
is satisfactorily matured for safe use in agriculture. According to the UNEP (2009), 
composting is the option that, with few exceptions, best fits within the limited resources 
available in developing countries. A characteristic that renders composting especially 
suitable is its adaptability to a broad range of situations. According to Zerbock (2003), a 
low-technology approach to waste reduction is composting. He further says that in 
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developing countries, the average city’s municipal waste stream is over 50 per cent 
organic material. 
 
2.8.5 Incineration 
According to the Centre for Environment and Development (2003: 9), incineration is a 
controlled combustion process for burning combustible waste to gases and reducing it to 
a residue of non-combustible ingredients. According to the Centre, during incineration, 
moisture in the solid waste gets vaporized and the combustible portion gets oxidized and 
vaporized. C02, water vapor, ash and non-combustible residue are the end products of 
incineration. Incinerators have the capacity to reduce the volume of waste drastically, up 
to nine fold than any other method (Kreith, 1994). According to him incineration can 
also recover useful energy either in the form of steam or electricity. He however 
recognized that the main constraints of incineration are high cost of operation, relatively 
high degree of sophistication needed to operate them safely and economically as well as 
the tendency to pollute the environment through emissions of carbon dioxide. Having 
assessed the major methods that have been proposed by the various authors, literature 
has further revealed that there is an alternative method of managing solid waste 
effectively which is synonymous to waste reduction and recycling as mentioned earlier 
on.  
 
2.8.6 Integrated Solid Waste Management 
Although considerable efforts are being made by many Governments and other entities 
in tackling waste-related problems, there are still major gaps to be filled in this area 
(UNEP, 2009). According to UNEP (2009), the World Bank estimates that in developing 
countries, it is common for municipalities to spend 20 to 50 percent of their available 
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budget on solid waste management, even though 30 to 60 percent of all the urban solid 
wastes remain uncollected and less than 50 percent of the population is served. UNEP 
(2009) suggested that if most of the waste could be diverted for material and resource 
recovery, then a substantial reduction in final volumes of waste could be achieved and 
the recovered material and resources could be utilized to generate revenue to fund waste 
management. This forms the premise for the Integrated Solid Waste Management 
(ISWM) system. ISWM is based on 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) principle. ISWM 
system has been pilot tested in a few locations (Wuxi, PR China; Pune, India; Maseru 
and Lesotho) and has been well received by local authorities. It has been shown that with 
appropriate segregation and recycling system significant quantity of waste can be 
diverted from landfills and converted into resource (UNEP, 2009). Similarly, the United 
States Environmental Protection Agency (1999) has said that if a state or local 
government wants to plan for and implement ISWM, they have to consider the 
hierarchies of methods which include reduce, recycle, and incinerate/landfill. Figure 2.2 
is a model of the ISWM. 
Figure 2. 2: Model of the ISWM. 
 
 
 
Source: Puopiel, 2010; pg 19.  
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Having discussed extensively by different authors on the methods that can be used to 
manage solid, the next section assesses the problems facing effective solid waste 
management in developing countries.  
 
2.9 Problems of Managing Solid Waste 
According to Ogawa (2005), a typical solid waste management system in a developing 
country displays an array of problems, including low collection coverage and irregular 
collection services, crude open dumping and burning without air and water pollution 
control. He categorized these challenges into technical, financial, institutional and social 
constraints. Ogawa further discussed these constraints in relation to the sustainability of 
solid waste in developing countries.  
 
2.9.1 Technical Constraints 
Ogawa (2005) indicated that to him, in most developing countries, there are inadequate 
human resources at both the national and local levels with technical expertise necessary 
for solid waste management planning and operation. Many officers in charge of solid 
waste management, particularly at the local level, have little or no technical background 
or training in engineering or management.  
 
2.9.2 Financial Constraints 
Ogawa (2005) intimated that, solid waste management is given a very low priority in 
developing countries, except perhaps in capital and large cities. As a result, very limited 
funds are provided to the solid waste management sector by the governments, and the 
levels of services required for protection of public health and the environment are not 
attained. The problem is acute at the local government level where the local taxation 
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system is inadequately developed and, therefore, the financial basis for public services, 
including solid waste management, is weak. This weak financial basis of local 
governments can be supplemented by the collection of user service charges. However, 
users' ability to pay for the services is very limited in poorer developing countries, and 
their willingness to pay for the services which are irregular and ineffective.  
 
2.9.3 Institutional Constraints 
In Ogawa’s observation, several agencies at the national level are usually involved at 
least partially in solid waste management. However, there are often no clear roles or 
functions of the various national agencies defined in relation to solid waste management 
and also no single agency or committee designated to coordinate their projects and 
activities. “......The lack of coordination among the relevant agencies often results in 
different agencies becoming the national counterpart to different external support 
agencies for different solid waste management collaborative projects without being 
aware of what other national agencies are doing. This leads to duplication of efforts, 
wasting of resources, and unsustainability of overall solid waste management programs. 
The lack of effective legislation for solid waste management, which is a norm in most 
developing countries, is partially responsible for the roles/functions of the relevant 
national agencies not being clearly defined and the lack of coordination among them” 
(Ogawa,2005). The author opines that Legislation (Public Health Act, Local Government 
Act, Environmental Protection Act) related to solid waste management in developing 
countries is usually fragmented.  
 
Zurbrugg (2009) indicates that, solid waste collection schemes of cities in the developing 
world generally serve only a limited part of the urban population. The people remaining 
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without waste collection services are usually the low-income population living in peri-
urban areas. The author further indicates that one of the main reasons is the lack of 
financial resources to cope with the increasing amount of generated waste produced by 
the rapid growing cities. Often inadequate fees charged and insufficient funds from a 
central municipal budget cannot finance adequate levels of service. He indicated that, 
apart from financial constraints that affect the availability or sustainability of a waste 
collection service; operational inefficiencies of solid waste services such as deficient 
management capacity of the institutions and inappropriate technologies affect effective 
waste management. Zurbrugg (2009) therefore underscores the key challenges of waste 
management which include financial and institutional constraints.  
 
2.10 Solid Waste Management in Ghana 
The responsibility of waste management in Ghana is placed on Metropolitan, Municipal 
and District Assemblies (MMDAs). By the Local Government Act (1993), Act 462 
section 10 subsection 3 (d and e), MMDAs are mandated to initiate programmes for the 
development of basic infrastructure and provide municipal works and services and also 
be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements 
and the environment in the district. This means that all waste deposited in the public 
domain is the property of the District Assembly. The selection of a site for developing a 
dump site is therefore one of the most important decisions MMDAs make in executing 
their waste management responsibilities. They are further required to ensure that they 
make available adequate sites for the present and future storage, treatment and disposal 
of wastes by identifying, acquiring, demarcating and protecting suitable areas for such 
purpose (Environmental Sanitation Policy, 1999). 
 
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On daily basis, the amount of solid waste that pile up in public places such as markets 
and walkways is a sure indication that solid waste disposal in Ghana has become a major 
challenge for metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies. As a result of increasing 
densities and urbanization, metropolitan assemblies find it challenging to deal with the 
large quantities of solid waste generated. This is due to the fact that, people resort to 
haphazard dumping as the only means to managing their domestic solid waste thus 
resulting in littering and heaping of waste. This section of the review analyses solid 
waste management processes in some municipalities Ghana. These include collection 
and disposal as well as waste management regulation and policy in Ghana. In Ghana, 
deficiencies in solid waste management (SWM) are most visible in and around urban 
areas such as Accra, Tema and Kumasi where equally important competing needs and 
financial constraints have placed an inordinate strain on the ability of the authorities to 
implement proper SWM strategies in tandem with the rapid population growth ( Oteng-
Ababio, 2011). 
 
2.10.1 Solid Waste Generation 
Being the biggest metropolis in Ghana, WaterAid and European Union (2008) have 
estimated that refuse generation in the Accra Metropolis has increased three-fold over 
the last two decades, due to factors including population growth, increased urbanization, 
urban sprawls and lifestyle changes. Furthermore, the population in urban areas is 
projected to double within the next decade (WaterAid & EU, 2008). At the current 
population, records indicate that approximately 2,000 metric tons of waste are generated 
daily, but only 1,200- 1,300 tons are properly collected (Accra Metropolitan Assembly, 
2010). Given anticipated population increases in the near future, and urbanization, 
determining solutions for solid waste management in Accra has become an extremely 
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critical issue. The subject is especially critical in low-income areas, which are 
particularly susceptible to the negative effects of a poorly managed municipal solid 
waste system. 
 
2.10.2 Solid Waste Collection 
Tsiboe and Marbel (2004), who did an extensive work on waste management in Ghana, 
have observed that there are basically three methods of household waste collection in 
most metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in Ghana. The first method involves 
Waste Management Department (WMD) curbside collection by trucks directly outside 
each house. According to them, this collection method was provided weekly in the high-
income residential areas by compactor trucks. The second method involves WMD 
collected from communal containers to which people must bring their own waste. These 
were restricted to low-income areas and there are communal containers provided for 
such purposes. Households that could not afford the house to house collection service 
usually would have to take their waste to any of the communal containers and from 
which the WMD would collect the waste and dispose of it at a landfill site. The last 
method Door-to-door collection services in middle-income areas.  
 
According to Anomanyo (2004), for the purpose of effective waste collection, most cities 
are demarcated into waste collection districts where a company was contracted by the 
various metropolitan, municipal or district assemblies to collect waste in one or two 
districts. This means that in many assemblies various waste collection companies are 
contracted. These include: Liberty Waste Service Company, Vicma Waste Construction, 
Ako Waste Management Limited, Gee Waste Limited Zoomlion Waste Management 
Limited, and Daben Cleansing Construction Services Limited. The main types of 
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vehicles used by these waste management companies and assemblies were compaction 
and skip trucks (Anomanyo, 2004). The wastes are taken by road directly to the disposal 
sites. There were no waste transfer stations. The author also stated that solid waste 
collection in the city was carried out both on franchise and contract basis. On the 
franchise basis, house-to-house collections are done in high income areas and the 
contractors charge the households some fees with weekly or monthly collection 
frequency. Mostly, such areas are well-planned residential areas with access roads 
described as first and second class areas and include areas such as Airport residential 
area and Cantonments in Accra. Each household had plastic containers with covers. 
These contractors then paid a tipping fee to the AMA for the use of its dump site. The 
user fees charged form about 20 per cent of general service to the beneficiaries whose 
wastes are collected. On contract basis, waste contractors are paid by the various 
assemblies to perform both block and communal container collection in some 
communities.  Block collection occurred in middle-income residential areas including 
Dansoman, Adabraka, Kaneshie and other parts of Accra. Central communal skip 
collection occurred in low income high population density and deprived residential areas 
such as James Town, Nima and other parts of Accra where houses were not well planned 
with poor or even no access roads (third class areas). Market places were also covered 
under this arrangement. Residents deposited their waste in such communal containers 
and the frequency of collection was at least once daily. Waste generators here did not 
pay user charges. The author further added that despite the strategies put in place for the 
collection of waste in Accra, maximum waste collection was not achieved. Between 65 
and 75 per cent of waste was collected per day.  
 
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2.10.3 Solid Waste Disposal 
Johannessen and Boyer (1999) found out that in many cities of Ghana (e.g., Accra, 
Kumasi, Takoradi and Cape Coast) open dumps were the means of solid waste disposal. 
It is under the World Bank’s Urban Environmental Sanitation Project that Ghana 
developed plans to build its first sanitary landfills in its cities (Government of Ghana, 
2003).  
 
Insufficient funding only compounds the problem. The waste management system so far 
in Ghana has not properly integrated other solutions as collection, treatment, and supply 
for re-use, reprocessing and final disposal. The system has also not delivered the 
optimum economic and environmental result for now and has not provided enough room 
to adapt to future pressures (increases in waste quantities and composition). From the 
observations of the Ghana Landfill Guidelines (2002), solid waste disposal practices in 
the country have not been environmentally friendly. Some of the solid waste 
management practices by individuals in various parts of Ghana are presented in Figure 
2.3.  
 
 
 
 
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Figure 2.3:  Waste Disposal of Households in Ghana, 2004 
 
Source: Accra Metropolitan Assembly, 2004 
 
It can be seen from the pie chart above that more than half (51.4 %) of households in 
Ghana dispose of waste in public dump sites. Also, 19.5 % of households rely on waste 
disposal agents for the disposal of waste whereas 12.2 % of households in the country 
dispose waste by burning. Astonishingly, 11.6 % of households dump their waste in 
gutters and other places. However, only 4.6 % of the households dispose of waste by 
burying the waste. 
 
2.10.4 Waste Management Regulation and Policy 
According to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) 
(2004), general waste management in Ghana is the responsibility of the MLGRD, which 
supervises the decentralized Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies 
(MMDAs). However, the ministry indicates that, regulatory authority is vested in the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the auspices of the Ministry of 
Environment and Science. The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies are 
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responsible for the collection and final disposal of solid waste through their Waste 
Management Departments (WMDs) and their Environmental Health and Sanitation 
Departments (EHSD). The policy framework guiding the management of hazardous, 
solid and radioactive waste includes the Local Government Act (1994), Act 462, the 
Environmental Protection Agency Act (1994), Act 490, the Pesticides Control and 
Management Act (1996), Act 528, the Environmental Assessment Regulations 1999, (LI 
1652), the Environmental Sanitation Policy of Ghana (1999), the Guidelines for the 
Development and Management of Landfills in Ghana, and the Guidelines for Bio-
medical Waste (2000). All these Acts and Regulations emanate from the National 
Environmental Action Plan (MLGRD, 2004). 
 
Furthermore, the ministry has published the National Environmental Sanitation Policy 
(NESP) since May 1999. Accordingly, the policy looks at the basic principles of 
environmental sanitation, problems and constraints. The role and responsibilities 
assigned to communities, ministries, departments and agencies and the private sector 
impinge on environmental management and protection, legislation and law enforcement 
and the criteria for specifying services and programmes, funding, equipment and 
supplies. Out of the National Sanitation Policy, the MLGRD has also developed a 
technical guideline document entitled ‘The Expanded Sanitary Inspection and 
Compliance Enforcement (ESICOME) programme guidelines. The programme 
guidelines which are implemented by the MMDA’s, routinely looked at four broad areas 
namely; effective environmental health inspections (Sanitary Inspections), dissemination 
of sanitary information (Hygiene Education), pests/vector control and law enforcement. 
All MMDAs have developed waste management and environmental health plans to help 
solve the numerous sanitation problems. Generally, the National Environmental 
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Sanitation Policy Co-ordination Council (NESPoCC ) is responsible for coordinating the 
policy and ensuring effective communication and cooperation between the many 
different agencies involved in environmental management in their respective Districts 
(MLGRD, 2004).  
 
The Ministry of Local Government further indicates that in an effort to address the 
problem of waste management, Government has over the years put in place adequate 
national policies, regulatory and institutional frameworks. Due to this the Environmental 
Sanitation Policy (ESP) was formulated in 1999. This policy has currently been amended 
and strategic action plans developed for implementation according to the report. Various 
relevant legislations for the control of waste have also been enacted. These include the 
following:  
 Local Government Act, 1990 (Act 462)  
 Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (LI 1652).  
 Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29).  
 Water Resources Commission Act, 1996 (Act 522).  
 Pesticides Control and Management Act, 1996 (Act 528).  
 National Building Regulations, 1996 (LI 1630).  
 
The Ministry of Local Governments and Rural Development also in collaboration with 
the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), EPA and the Ministry of 
Health have prepared the following guidelines and standards for waste management:  
 National Environmental Quality Guidelines (1998);  
 Ghana Landfill Guidelines (2002); 
 Manual for the preparation of district waste management plans in Ghana (2002); 
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 Guidelines for the management of healthcare and veterinary waste in Ghana (2002); 
 Handbook for the preparation of District level Environmental Sanitation Strategies 
and Action Plans (DESSAPs).  
 
It is observed from the above that, despite the numerous sanitations regulations and 
policies that have been put in place by the MLGRD to deal with the solid waste menace 
in the country, there has not been any improvement in the area of solid waste 
management. Rather it has moved from bad to worst and therefore has failed to achieve 
its goal of clearing filth in the country. Secondly, drawing from the views given by the 
Sanitation Country Profile Ghana and the National Report for Waste Management in 
Ghana, it can be said with certainty that MMDAs are the primary authorities to manage 
solid waste at the local level.  
 
2.10.5 Problems of Waste Management in Ghana 
In Ghana, Boadi and Kuitunen (2004) pointed out some of the problems affecting solid 
waste management. These include: weak institutional capacity and lack of resources; 
both human and capital. They also indicated that, 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 city. 
Furthermore, MLGRD (2004) summarizes the challenges of solid waste management in 
Ghana as follows: poor planning for waste management programs; inadequate equipment 
and operational funds to support waste management activities; inadequate sites and 
facilities for waste management operations; inadequate skills and capacity of waste 
management staff; and negative attitudes of the general public towards the environment 
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in general. It can therefore be said that the main challenges facing solid waste 
management in developing countries and for that matter Ghana include: inadequate funds 
to support waste management, inadequate equipment to support waste storage, collection 
and disposal, low collection coverage and irregular collection services, crude open 
dumping and burning without air and water pollution control.  
 
Another researcher Anomanyo (2004) stated that apart from lack of funds, insufficient 
information on quantities and characteristics of waste is the major contributing factor to 
Ghana's waste management problems. According to him, the existing waste management 
systems that exist in Ghana have not properly combined other essential components of 
waste management such as reuse, recycling, reprocessing and treatment. 
 
2.11 Waste Recycling 
According to Boadi and Kuitunen (2004), in Ghana, waste recycling at the household 
level begins with the reuse of plastics, bottles, paper, cardboards, and cans for domestic 
purposes. These materials are disposed of only when they are no longer of any use to 
their owners. In high income areas, recovery is mainly carried out by domestic servants 
who sell the materials to middlemen to supplement their incomes. Metals, particularly, 
aluminum, are recovered and sold to small-scale recyclers who use them to produce 
valuable items, such as lamps, cooking pots, and washing pans. Scavenging is 
undertaken at public containers and dumping sites. Johannessen and Boyer (1999) also 
stated that waste pickers sort through waste in public container sites and at dumping 
sites. Furthermore, solid wastes including sugar cane leftovers, dry corncobs, and 
coconut shells are used to smoke fish in open ovens in fishing communities. The 
collection of these wastes provides employment for people who collect them for sale to 
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fish smokers. Organic waste is also, used to feed livestock in peri-urban farms. Farm 
owners collect organic waste from homes and sometimes pay a little fee. The practice 
help in reducing the amount of household waste for disposal and also check 
indiscriminate dumping. This activity however, poses a major health risk since any 
contamination in animals can easily be transmitted to humans. When solid waste, 
contaminated with human excreta is ingested, animals can become a reservoir for later 
infection of humans (Cointreau-Levine, 2000). 
 
2.12 Conceptual Framework 
The literature review above forms the basis of the conceptual framework of this study. 
The frame work focuses on three key issues which are: primary level of waste disposal, 
methods used in managing solid waste and the availability of resources both material and 
human in managing the solid waste in ASEMA. Figure 2.4 illustrates the conceptual 
frame work of the study. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Figure 2.4:  Conceptual Framework 
 
Source: Adopted from Puopiel, 2010 
 
The focus of this study is to investigate how household sold waste is managed by the 
households, municipal authorities and waste collection institutions. The framework 
shows that the source of generation of solid waste is households. It is seen from the 
Figure 2.4 that in solid waste management stream, three main issues are important and 
need to be considered. These include the role stakeholders play (MMDAs, waste 
management institutions and waste generators, i.e., households and individuals) in 
managing solid waste, driving forces of managing solid waste (resources) and the 
methods used (source separation, reuse, recycling, composting and landfill). Even 
though, the major portion of solid waste comes from domestic sources, its proper 
disposal depends heavily on availability of skips and waste bins and attitudes of the 
people.  
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It is also seen from Figure 2.4 that waste produced by household are disposed of at the 
primary disposal site which may be in the skips and waste bins. The basic disposal is 
dependent on resources. The municipal assemblies, individuals and even waste 
management institutions need resources to provide households with the basic disposal 
site. The waste bins and skips hat may be available in vantage points for households and 
individuals to dispose of their waste are purchased with cash. From the primary disposal 
sites, the waste has to be collected and transported final disposal. The collection and 
transportation depends heavily on resources. The resources needed includes heavy duty 
compactor vehicles and waste carrier vehicles. From the literature reviewed in the 
foregoing sections an appropriate research methodology has been developed to collect 
data to fill the gaps identified in relation to three key issues outlined in the framework.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER THREE 
PROFILE OF STUDY AREAS AND METHODOLOGY 
3.1 Introduction 
This chapter has two main divisions. The first aspect provides details on the profile of 
the study area and the other dwells on the research method. The profile of the study area 
includes the location, population and other demographic characteristics of the area. The 
research method includes the design, the sample size and sampling techniques that were 
used in the study.  
 
3.2 Profile of study area 
The study was conducted in Kasoa; the Municipal capital of the Awutu Senya East 
Municipal Assembly (ASEMA). According to the assembly’s official website 
(www.asema.gov.gh) Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly is one of the newly 
created Municipalities in the Central Region. The Municipality was carved out of the 
former –Awutu Senya District in 2012 and established as a Municipality by Legislative 
Instrument (LI) 2025. The rationale was to facilitate government’s decentralization 
programs and local governance system. The people of the Municipality are mainly 
Guans.  There are other settler tribes of different ethnic backgrounds; these include the 
Gas, Akans, Ewes, Walas/Dagartis, Moshies, Basares and other numerous smaller tribes. 
The Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly exists to facilitate the improvement in the 
quality of life of the people in close collaboration with the private sector and other 
development partners in the municipality through the mobilization and the judicious use 
of resources and provision of Basic Socio-Economic Development within the context of 
commitment to Equity, Accountability, Transparency and excellence. The population of 
the ASEMA is estimated at 270,000 (projected from 2010 Population and Housing 
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Census). The average annual growth rate of the Municipal is 3.0%. The ratio of male to 
female 1 to 1.06 and the population is basically youthful (Ministry of Finance, 2014). 
The target population for this study is all households in the Awutu Senya East 
Municipality, municipal authorities in charge of waste management, individual waste 
collectors and waste management companies. The population of persons aged 18 years 
and above has been estimated to be about 92000 (projected from 2010 Population and 
Housing Census). The gender ratio is about 1 male to 1.06 females (www.asema 
asemadevelopments.gov.gh, 2014). There are two main waste collection companies 
namely, Zoomlion Company Limited and Alliance Waste Company Limited. Data on the 
number of waste companies operating within the Kasoa was not readily available. 
However, data on the number of individuals popularly known as ‘kaya bola’ who do 
house to house collection and disposal of solid waste was not readily available at the 
Municipal Assembly.  
 
3.2.1 Location and Size of the Awutu Senya East Municipality 
The Awutu Senya East Municipality is located in the Eastern part of the Central Region 
within  Latitudes 5°45 south and 6°00 north and from Longitude 0°20 west to 0°35 East. 
It shares common boundaries with Ga South Municipal Assembly (in the Greater Accra 
Region) at the East, Awutu Senya District at the North and Gomoa East District at the 
West and South respectively. The Municipality covers a total land area of about 180 sq 
km about 18% of the total area of the Central Region (Ministry of Finance-Government 
of Ghana, 2013). Figure 3.1 presents Awutu Senya East in regional context. 
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Figure 3.1:  Awutu Senya East in the Regional Context 
 
Source: Ministry of Finance-Government of Ghana, 2014 
 
3.2.2 Zonal Councils/Electoral Areas 
Awutu Senya Municipal Assembly has been zoned into six (6) councils which are the 
same as the electoral areas. These are Kasoa Zonal Council, Kpormetey Zonal Council, 
Ofankor Zonal Council, Opeikuma Zonal Council, Akwetey Zonal Council and Walantu 
Zonal Council. These councils have chairpersons or assembly men and women who are 
responsible for the daily administration of their respective council jurisdiction. These 
chairpersons reports directly to the Municipal Chief Executive. Figure 3.2 presents the 
demarcation of the zonal councils.  
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Figure 3.2: Zonal Councils/Electoral Areas in Awutu-Senya Municipal Assembly  
 
Source: Ministry of Finance-Government of Ghana, 2014 
 
3.2.3 Major Settlements 
Kasoa, the Municipal Capital is located at the south-easting part, about 31km off the 
Accra-Capital. The language mostly spoken is Akan. Other languages spoken include as 
Hausa, Ga, Ewe and English (the official language). Kasoa is said to be one of the fastest 
growing community in West Africa (Ministry of Finance, 2014). Other major settlements 
are Opeikuma, Adam Nana, Kpormetey, Ofankor, Akweley, Walantu and Zongo. 
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3.3 Research design 
In this study quantitative and qualitative approaches were used.  This was to ensure that 
the strengths of the individual methods compensate for the inherent weaknesses in each 
other (Teye, 2012). For instance the qualitative method enables researchers explain 
patterns in quantitative data sets (Creswell, 2009). Qualitative research paradigm 
generally includes methods that rely upon extensive in-depth interviews or focus group 
discussions that result in the collection of non-numerical data (Labuschgne, 2003), 
However, Bryman (2001) indicates that qualitative techniques do not allow for 
generalizations and predictions. On the other hand, quantitative techniques have the 
potential of providing the researcher with a lot of information obtained from a large 
sample of individuals at a relatively short period of time (Creswell, 2009). Nevertheless, 
the anticipated difficulty involved in quantitative technique includes ensuring that the 
questions are clear and unambiguous in order to get respondents to answer thoughtfully 
and honestly (Frankel & Alien, 2003). One other weakness in this technique is the fact 
that it does not provide opportunities for respondents to explain their responses (Bryman, 
2001). Consequently, in this study the quantitative approach comprised a questionnaire 
survey of households whilst the qualitative approach comprised in-depth interviews of 
key informants namely assembly members, officers of waste management companies 
and district finance officers in order to understand the context of solid waste 
management from the perspectives of different stakeholders.   
 
3.4 Data Collection Instruments 
The main instruments that were used in the collection of data were a structured in-depth 
interview guide and a structured questionnaire (refer to appendix 1). The in-depth 
interview guide comprised questions targeted at collecting non-numerical data which 
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was used to explain patterns in the questionnaire data. On the other hand, the structured 
questionnaire comprised both closed and open ended questions. The questions on the 
questionnaire were answered by representatives of households in the selected 
community. The questionnaire was used to collect data related to the socio-demographic 
characteristics and solid waste management among selected households.  
 
3.3 Sources of Data 
Both primary and secondary sources of data were employed in this study.  
 
3.3.1 Primary Data 
The primary source of data is the type of data that is assembled from firsthand sources. 
These first hand sources include experiments, literary texts, surveys, artistic works and 
interviews. Primary sources of data provide the 'raw data' that the individual uses first to 
test the working hypothesis and then as evidence to support ones claims (Wayne and 
Booth (2008). In history, for example, primary sources include documents from the 
period or person you are studying, objects, maps, even clothing; in literature or 
philosophy, the main primary source is usually the text you are studying, and the data is 
the words on the page. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, primary source of 
data was obtained from field investigations through structured questionnaires that were 
administered to households, assembly members, waste management companies, 
individual house to house waste collectors and municipal finance officer.  
 
3.3.2 Secondary Data 
Secondary data were obtained from books, articles and internet sources to review 
literature. The secondary data also includes information from the District Medium Term 
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Development Plan (DMTDP), the 2013 and 2014 composite budget of the Municipal 
assembly. This data included the assembly’s objective, strategies and activities of waste 
management. It also included the assembly’s time frame and implementation, 
collaborators as well as its indicative cost involved in waste management. Secondary 
source of data was also obtained from waste management past records of companies and 
records of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.   
 
3.4 Sample Size 
In all, 396 households households were surveyed through the administration of 
questionnaires. The sample size (n) was determined by the mathematical formula:  
𝑛 =
𝑁
1 + 𝑁(∝2)
 
Where N is the populaion size = 26, 325;  α is the margin of error = 0.05 with confidence 
level of 95%. By substituting the values of N and  into the formula, we have:  
𝑛 =
26, 325
1 + 26, 325(0.052)
 
Hence the sample size, n = 394 households representatives. However, 396 households 
were sampled for the study. 
  
A total of nine key informants were interviewed by in-depth interviews. These included 
six (6) assembly members, the municipal finance officer, and two officers each from 
Zoomlion Company Limited and Alliance Waste Company Limited.  
 
3.5 Sampling Techniques 
The following sampling techniques were employed to select the respondents for the 
study. These are: cluster, purposive, systematic and accidental sampling. The study area 
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is zoned into six electoral areas which were Zongo electoral area, Beakoye (CP) electoral 
area, Opeikuma Zonal Council, Otamins Zonal Council, Down Town electoral area and 
Walantu Zonal Council. These electoral areas for the purpose of this study are regarded 
as a cluster. The purposive sample was used to select the six assembly men responsible 
for each of these zones. Furthermore, systematic sampling technique was used to select 
houses in each area. The convenience sampling technique was employed to select the 
individuals within households to participate in the study. This sampling technique 
involved selecting respondents primarily on the basis of their availability and willingness 
to participate in the study. Also called accidental sampling/opportunity sampling, 
convenient sampling is a type of non-probability sampling technique which entails the 
sample being drawn from that part of the population which is close to hand. That is, the 
selected participant is readily available and it is convenient for both the researcher and 
the participant. The convenience sampling approach was employed because it is less time 
consuming and less burdensome to carry out. That is, the first adult to be contacted in 
each selected house will be made to complete the questionnaire for households. If the 
first adult contacted was not ready, the next available adult contacted was interviewed. 
Since some of respondents may not understand English language, people who 
understood both the English and Twi or Gawere trained and employed to help in the 
administration of the questionnaires. 
 
3.6 Procedure 
The selected participants (household members, assembly members, waste management 
companies, municipal finance officer and house to house waste collectors) were briefed 
on what the study was about. The briefing was done to ensure better understanding of the 
research by the participants. Participants were assured of the confidentiality of their 
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responses and they were told that the research was for academic purposes only. This 
helped to ensure that the participants gave as much as possible very honest answers. 
Additionally, the participants were informed that they can withdraw from the study even 
after consenting to participate. After the participants agree to participate in the study, 
they were handed the questionnaire to complete. For the participants who cannot read 
and write in English language, various research assistants were employed to translate the 
questions or statements within the questionnaires into a language that they understand 
best.  
 
3.7 Ethical Considerations 
As applicable in physical science research, social science research demands that the 
researcher should be ethically conscious. In the present research, the researcher ensured 
that ethical requirements are met. The researcher made sure that all participants of the 
study are informed of the purpose of the study. Their freedom to choose whether to 
participate or withdraw from the study will be assured. The identities of all participants 
in the study were also protected to ensure anonymity. Confidentiality of all participants 
was equally guaranteed. Furthermore, all sources of information that are used in the 
study were as much as possible acknowledged to avoid plagiarism. 
 
3.8 Data Processing and Analysis 
The administered questionnaires were cross-checked to ascertain their completeness and 
the accuracy of information provided to eliminate errors and take care of inconsistencies. 
The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Micro Soft 
Excel Software. Descriptive statistical tools such as mean, frequencies and descriptive 
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diagrams and tables were used in analyzing the data collected. The results are presented 
in frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts among others.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER FOUR 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
4.1 Introduction 
This chapter presents results obtained from the analyses of the data. Descriptive 
statistical methods such as pie charts, bar graphs and frequency tables were used in the 
analyses of the data.  The data collected sought to obtain information about types of solid 
waste generated in the Municipal Assembly, how people dispose of domestic waste, how 
frequently waste is collected and disposed-of, the cost involved, the resources that are 
available in collecting the waste generated and challenges faced by ASEMA when it 
comes to solid waste management. 
 
4.2 Demographic characteristics of Respondents 
The demographic characteristics of the respondents such as sex, educational background, 
location of stay within the municipality and occupation were investigated. Table 2  
below presents a summary of the demographic characteristics of the respondents.  
 
4.2.1 Location of House 
The respondent households were drawn from six communities within the Awutu Senya 
East Municipal capital, Kasoa. The communities were Down Town, Opeikuma, Beakoye 
(CP), Wallantu, Otamens and Zongo. The number of household or respondents selected 
from a particular locality depends on the estimated population of the area. As illustrated 
in Table 4.1, the highest number of respondents was drawn from the Beakoye CP locality 
(35%), followed by Down Town (20%) with the least number of participants selected 
from Otamens (5%). 
  
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Table 4 1: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents 
Location of House Frequency Percent 
Down Town 80 20 
Otamens 20 5 
Opeikuma 26 7 
Beakoye (CP) Kasoa 140 35 
Walantu 60 15 
Zongo 70 18 
Total 396 100.0 
Age Frequency Percent 
20-29 81 20 
30-39 147 38 
40-49 129 31 
50-54 39 10 
Total 396 100.0 
Occupation Frequency Percent 
Farming 12 3 
Petty trading 176 44 
Business 143 36 
Public Servants 62 16 
Other, specify 3 1 
Total 396 100.0 
Sex Frequency Percent 
Male 82 21 
Female 314 79 
Total 396 100.0 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
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4.2.2 Age 
The ages of the respondents range between 20 to 54 years. The ages were grouped into 
four groups: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49 and 50-54 as presented in Table 2. It observed that 37% 
of the respondents are aged between 30-39 years, 33% are aged between 40-49 years 
while 20% are aged between 20-29 years. A few of the respondents (10%) are aged 
between 50-54 years. 
 
4.2.3 Sex 
As illustrated in Table 2, higher percentages (79%) of respondents were females. This is 
because within the Ghanaian cultural setting, more females turn to deal with issues of 
sanitation and its related problems than their male counterparts. This obviously explains 
why most households selected preferred that female members answered the 
questionnaires that were circulated. In a related study undertaken in the WA municipality 
by  Bowan et al (2014), it was found out that domestic waste management was perceived 
to be the responsibility of women in low and middle income residential areas, 
 
4.3 Types of solid waste generated in Awutu-Senya Municipality 
The households were asked to indicate the most generated type of solid waste in their 
homes. Adequate knowledge on the types of solid waste generated in the municipality 
will give the municipal waste management department and the various waste 
management companies a clear idea about the appropriate methods to be used for the 
management of waste. According to (USPS, 2000) the components of the waste stream 
would enable waste managers to know whether to use the integrated waste management 
model comprising reduce, recycle and reuse, combined with incineration and some level 
of land filling or source separation and composting. In order to investigate the types of 
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waste that is generated most in the homes the respondents were asked the following 
question “Which of the following types of waste do you generate most in your home?” 
From the responses the components of domestically generated solid waste include food 
waste, plastic waste, paper, wood, ashes, and grasses among others. Similarly, Eshun 
(2013) in a study in the KEEA Municipality pointed out that about 57% of respondents 
were of the view that plastic waste generation accounted for more than half of the total 
solid waste generation in the Municipality. The Table 4.2 presents the summary of 
responses given by the respondents.  
 
Table 4.2: Summary of the most Domestic Solid Waste Generated in Awutu-Senya 
Municipality  
Types of waste Frequency Percent 
Plastics 238 60.1 
Food Waste 43 10.9 
Wood 37 9.3 
Ashes 27 6.8 
Grass 23 5.8 
Glass 7 1.8 
Paper 21 5.3 
Total 396 100.0 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
It is seen from Table 4.2 that out of the 396 respondents, 238 constituting 60.1 %, stated 
that the most domestically generated waste is plastics whereas 43 (10.9 %) stated that 
food waste. Small proportions of respondents indicated respectively that paper (5.3 %), 
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grass (5.8 %), ashes (6.8 %), wood (9.3 %) and broken bottles or glass (1.8 %) 
respectively constituted the main components of their domestically generated waste. In 
his work, Oteng-Ababio (2011a) emphasizes that a study conducted regarding waste 
composition between 1989 and 1999 was consistent with existing literature which has 
organic material (such as food, yard trimming) being the most prevalent comprising 
about 67% of waste in the three research localities in Accra and Tema. Plastic material 
(such as plastic bottles and sachet bags) accounted for about 20%. Significantly, 
comparing the waste composition of Tema and Accra between 1989 and 1999 shows a 
reduction of organic waste content from 73% to 60% in 2000-2009 whilst plastic waste 
content surged from 3% to 8% within the same period (ibid). Perhaps this sharp 
contradiction can be attributed to the population increase of the area combined with the 
excessive use of plastics with little or no governance system put in place to check the 
usage, collection and disposal of waste in the municipality. Scouting through the 
municipal capital, Kasoa, one would see skips and other open spaces, especially the 
market area full of heaps of solid waste mostly plastic. It is confirmation that plastics 
bags is the most common product used in the packaging items including groceries, food 
toiletries within the municipality. However, a study done by Asase et. al. (2009) 
indicates plastic waste generation of 4% in the Kumasi metropolis which is in sharp 
contrast with 60% of domestically generated plastic waste in the Awutu Senya 
Municipality. This difference in plastic waste composition may be attributed to the 
population size and the level of activities of the inhabitants of these two areas. The 
composition of waste is also confirmed by observation made by Tchobanoglous et. al. 
(1993) and the Centre for Environment and Development (2003) that household solid 
waste largely includes the following items: food waste, rubbish, ashes and residues 
among others. This also confirms the Dhaka City Corporation (1999) study which found 
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that solid waste components, although vary widely with the location and season of the 
year, include food wastes, paper, plastic, cloths, metal, glass, construction materials and 
others. The composition of waste is mostly a mixture of various materials and Asase et al 
(2009) clarifies that the composition of waste in Kumasi is predominantly made up of 
biodegradable and a high percentage of inert materials as well which corroborate with 
the composition of waste in the Awutu Senya Municipality. 
 
4.4 Waste Management methods: Separation and Reuse 
The respondents were asked to indicate whether they separate and reuse the solid waste 
that they generate domestically. All the household respondents indicated they do not 
separate waste into various forms by responding “No” to the question “Do you separate 
the waste generated in your household into various forms?” This means that among all 
households sampled, none of them separate solid waste into plastics, wood, metals, food 
waste and glass or broken bottles, grass and wood waste. In a similar study conducted at 
the Ga East municipality (comprising Madina, Danfa, Taifa, and Dome) in Accra, Yoada 
et al (2014) attest that about 83% of respondents do not separate their waste before 
disposal. According to Fei-Baffoe et al (2014) solid waste ,mostly disposed in the 
Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis does not go through any form processing or treatment 
because waste generated at the various households or point are of generation are bundled 
together without undergoing any form of waste separation. 
The respondents were further asked whether they reuse some of the waste that is 
generated domestically. This is summarized in Table 4.3  
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Table 4.3:  Distribution of Respondents Reuse of Solid Waste 
Response Frequency Percent 
No 350 88 
Yes 46 12 
Total 396 100.0 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
It is observed from Table 4.3 that significant number of the respondents (88%) do not 
reuse the solid waste generated. It is only 12% that reuse some of the waste generated. 
This implies that all the solid waste generated by households is disposed off either by 
burning in open spaces, drains, communal skips and other methods indicated in the next 
section. This observation is not in conformity with Read (2003) who proposed that in 
practice solid waste management must combine many different methods based on an 
integrated system. The organic aspects of the solid waste for instant could be used for 
composting instead of buying inorganic fertilizers for their backyard gardens which some 
of the residents use for the cultivation of vegetables. It implies that many of such organic 
waste may end up being dumped in open spaces or gutters resulting in choky gutters. The 
current results also do not support the observation by Tsiboe and Marbel (2004) that for 
efficient waste management, households should separate their domestic solid waste into 
glass, paper, plastic categories; thereby enabling easy collection and consequently reuse. 
This effectively minimizes solid waste generation through source reduction.  In a related 
study, Oteng-Ababio (2011b) found out that the system of household solid waste 
collection in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) does not encourage source 
separation.  
 
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4.5 Place of solid waste disposal by households 
One important aspect of solid waste management is the process of disposal of the solid 
waste generated by household. Positive externalities exist in proper solid waste disposal, 
since the whole community receives health and safety benefits from the proper disposal 
by others. Knowledge of where the households dispose of their domestic solid waste 
provides a clear indication of the kind of management system that is in place for solid 
waste management. Figure 4.1 presents a summary of the place of disposal of solid waste 
among the respondents.  
 
Figure 4.1: Summary of the place of disposal of solid waste among the respondents 
 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
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It is observed from Figure 4.1 above that 34% of the respondents stated that they dispose 
of their domestically generated waste in communal skips. The use of skips according to 
Puopiel (2010) (in a research conducted in the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly) is highly 
popular and patronized by residents of low class areas. Similarly, the findings in the 
Awutu Senya Municipal also indicate that places like Kasoa which is densely populated 
conform to the use of skip for their waste disposal. However, 17% disposed-of their 
waste along the road side, 15% said their waste is collected by mobile waste collectors 
“kaya bola”. Other places or methods of disposal by the respondents included nearby 
gutter (8%), burn it (9%), open spaces (6%), backyard (5%), waste bins (4%) and dump 
sites (3%). Indeed these trends of waste disposal has been emphasized by various 
scholars including  The result show that less than half of the respondents (40%) 
disposed-of their waste appropriately in places as like in communal skips, waste bins and 
dump sites. They dispose of their waste in open spaces, gutters, road sides, backyards or 
by burning it. This explains why many parts of the municipal capital, Kasoa are littered 
with solid waste making these parts very filthy, unsightly and unhealthy. Plate 1 shows 
on-street dumping of solid waste within the Down Town Community in Kasoa.  
 
  
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Plate  1: Plate Showing On-Street Dumping of Solid within Kasoa Township 
 
Source: Field work, December 2014 
 
This finding is consistent with the observations of Momoh and Oladebeye (2010) 
showed the methods of solid waste disposal include dumping of waste in gutters, drains, 
by roadside, unauthorized dumping sites and stream channels during raining season and 
burning of wastes on unapproved dumping sites is a common place in many towns and 
cities in Nigeria. This situation is emphasized Plate 2 also shows indiscriminate dumping 
of waste which resulted in choking of a storm drain within the Kasoa Township. 
 
  
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Plate  2: Indiscriminate Waste Dumping resulting in Choking of Storm Drain by 
Solid Waste in Kasoa Township 
 
Source: Field work, December 2014 
 
Usually, the indiscriminate dumping is disguisedly done usually at night, though in some 
cases it could even be done during the day. Indiscriminate dumping of solid waste is 
seemingly becoming the order of the day as it is practiced by many people. There seems 
to be little care taken by people when it comes to where solid waste should be disposed 
of. The respondents revealed that for some people, any open place under no activity is 
taken to be a potential place for dumping of solid waste. The people continuously dump 
their solid in unapproved location. Even when prohibitive notices are placed at these 
sites, the people continue to dump the waste there when they are not seen. Some of the 
residents also feel that once the municipal authorities have employed sanitation workers, 
popularly known as “Zoom Lion”, they have the mandate to keep the municipality clean 
and not the residents themselves. The structures for enforcement of sanitation regulations 
are also with no one to ensure the culprits are fined. The concerned community members 
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do not have the authority to arrest and punish those who break the norms for proper solid 
waste management. This may explain why illegal solid waste dumping sites continue to 
be a common phenomenon. Residents are not obliged to police the area, once a dumping 
site is not in proximity to their properties. Plate 3 shows one of the indiscriminate 
disposal sites in an open space in Opeikuma community in Kasoa. 
 
Plate 3: Indiscriminate disposal of solid waste in Opeikuma Community Kasoa 
 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
Nogarh (2007) indicated that the incidence of many infectious and transmittable diseases 
in our communities is attributable to the deplorable state of waste management in the 
country. The unhygienic state of many town and cities in Ghana, where solid waste have 
accumulated virtually everywhere, underscores great weakness in the solid waste 
management system. Diseases such as cholera, malaria diarrhea that can be prevented 
these days are on the increase because of poor sanitation (Nogarh, 2007). 
 
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4.6 Availability of domestic waste management facilities 
The availability of facilities has a very strong correlation with the level of services that 
can be provided by the waste management department of the municipality or the waste 
management companies hired by the municipal assembly.  In that vein assessing the 
capacity of the Waste Management Department of the municipality will enable 
conclusions to be drawn on their effectiveness. This is assessed by the number of 
communal waste containers or skips, waste bins available each of the communities. Six 
assembly members of the municipality and the personnel of municipal waste 
management department (MWMD) were interviewed for the availability and adequacy 
of communal waste collection facilities.  
 
Table 4 4:  Distribution of Communal Skips within the Municipal Capital 
Locality 
 
Number of  
Communal Skips 
Number required as 
Stated by MWMD 
Otamens 0 10 
Zongo 2 8 
Wallantu - 5 
Down Town 1 7 
CP Kasoa or Beakoye 4 6 
Opeikuma 0 6 
Total 6 42 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
From Table 4.4, it is seen that all communities within the municipal capital do not have 
the required number of skips that would ensure proper disposal of solid waste. This table 
goes further to explain why almost 60% of the respondents who represented their 
respective households dispose of their domestic waste indiscriminately. Follow up 
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interviews conducted disclosed that most residents would prefer to dispose their waste 
properly, as most lament the nuisance caused by the filth within the municipal capital.  
 
Since there are no legal places to dump solid waste, people find solace in dumping at any 
open place they find convenient. The municipal authorities seems to face a setback in 
deterring this illegal dumping because they would have to present an alternative place to 
the public, which is not available up to now. It is quite clear from the findings that the 
preferred type of waste management that is convenient to residents of Kasoa would be 
land filling. However, this is yet to be put in place leaving a dire need for such facilities 
at the moment. This means that there is little consideration for the first activities in the 
integrated strategy for solid waste management as outlined by USEPA (2002) but rather 
the last which is land filling. The people want communal waste containers stationed at 
strategic places so they can dump their waste in such bins, so the municipal waste 
management department trucks can pick them when they are full and take them to the 
landfills. 
 
Obviously, if the skips were available, the discarded waste could be contained by 
disposing into skips. Plate 4 shows the open dumping of waste close to residential areas 
as a result of lack of skips.  
 
  
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Plate  3: Picture showing the practice of open dumping of solid waste at Ofankor, 
Kasoa 
 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
Residents of Ofankor and their assembly man indicated that this location formerly had a 
communal collection skip but was later moved for no apparent reason. This 
notwithstanding, residents continue to dump solid waste in the same location.  
 
4.7 Influence of Place of Residence on Methods of Waste Disposal 
The researcher investigated the location of house and methods of waste disposal used by 
residents. As presented in Table 4.5 there are differences in the location of the 
respondents and the methods they use for disposal of their solid waste. Among the 66 
respondents who disposed of their waste at the road side, majority (65%) are from, Down 
Town. Additionally, 13% and 1% respectively dispose of their waste in the waste 
containers and waste bins. This may be largely because, there is only one communal skip 
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for a large area and there are also no waste bins in the community for them to dispose of 
their waste. It is also observed that about half (49%) of the respondents who live at CP 
Kasoa/Beakoye appropriately either in communal skips or waste bins. A chi square test 
was done to determine if the location of the residents has statistically significant 
influence on the methods of disposal.  
The result is presented in Table 4.5.  
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Table 4.5: Cross tabulation of Place of Residence and disposal of waste by households 
   Where do you dispose of your waste? 
Total 
   
Roadside 
Nearby 
gutter 
Communa
l Skips 
Waste 
bins Backyard 
Open 
Spaces Burn it 
Dump 
sites 
Collected 
by Kaya 
Boola 
Location 
of House 
Down 
Town 
Count 52 6 10 1 2 3 2 2 2 80 
% within Location of 
House 
65.0% 7.5% 12.5% 1.2% 2.5% 3.8% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 100% 
Otamans Count 3 3 9 0 1 0 0 2 2 20 
% within Location of 
House 
15.0% 15.0% 45.0% .0% 5.0% .0% .0% 10.0% 10.0% 100% 
Opeikuma Count 1 1 12 0 1 2 0 1 8 26 
% within Location of 
House 
3.8% 3.8% 46.2% .0% 3.8% 7.7% .0% 3.8% 30.8% 100% 
CP Kasoa Count 5 7 54 14 11 5 18 1 25 140 
% within Location of 
House 
3.6% 5.0% 38.6% 10.0% 7.9% 3.6% 12.9% .7% 17.9% 100% 
Walantu Count 0 10 13 1 2 12 10 3 9 60 
% within Location of 
House 
.0% 16.7% 21.7% 1.7% 3.3% 20.0% 16.7% 5.0% 15.0% 100% 
Zongo Count 5 4 34 0 4 3 5 1 14 70 
% within Location of 
House 
7.1% 5.7% 48.6% .0% 5.7% 4.3% 7.1% 1.4% 20.0% 100% 
Total Count 66 31 132 16 21 25 35 10 60 396 
% within Location of 
House 
16.7% 7.8% 33.3% 4.0% 5.3% 6.3% 8.8% 2.5% 15.2% 100.% 
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Table 4.6: Chi-Square Tests on the influence of Place of Residence and method of waste 
disposal by households 
Test 
Value df 
Asymp. Sig. 
(2-sided) 
Exact Sig. 
(2-sided) 
Pearson Chi-Square 256.167a 40 .000 .000 
Likelihood Ratio 232.351 40 .000 .000 
Fisher's Exact Test .000   .000 
Linear-by-Linear 
Association 
40.105b 1 .000 .000 
N of Valid Cases 396    
The minimum expected count is 51. 
 
The Chi square test, as presented in Table 4.6 shows that place of residence has significant 
influence on the method of waste disposal χ2 (df=40)=256, p<.05). As observed in Table 4.5 
earlier, more than half (78 %) of the respondents who reside in Down Town and Walantu (65 
%) respectively dispose of waste inappropriately while 46 % of respondents from Otamens 
and 42 % from Opeikuma respectively dispose of waste inappropriately. However, only 8 % 
of respondents who reside in residences CP Kasoa and 18 % of those in Zongo were found to 
dispose of waste inappropriately.  
 
4.8 Time spent to dispose-off waste 
The amount of time spent to dispose-off refuse is also likely to have significant influence on 
the behaviour of people. For instance, if the locations of communal skips are further away 
from houses, it creates a lot of inconvenience. People are therefore likely to dump at places 
they find convenient to them. The responses of the participants with respect to how long it 
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takes to dispose-off refuse in the skip containers available have been summarized in Figure 
4.2.  
 
Figure 4.2: How long it takes to dispose-off refuse in the skip containers 
 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
The Figure 4.2 above shows that 72.% of households who dump their waste in the communal 
skips spend between 11 to 15 minutes while 28% spend up to about 10 minutes to get to the 
skips. This clearly shows that most of the skip containers are not within acceptable walking 
distance from them. This is likely to create inconvenience for the residents and hence the 
likely to resort to indiscriminate dumping of solid waste. In addition, about 30 percent of the 
respondents have waste bins allocated to their household. The waste bins are allocated by the 
municipal waste management department on request by the individual households. However, 
those who have the bins indicated that even though the waste is supposed to be lifted every 
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week, sometimes it takes up to about a month before the waste is lifted from their homes. 
This discouraged many residents not to apply for the bins for their households. The practice 
of leaving solid waste in the households for as long periods is unhygienic and poses very high 
health risks to the residents.  
 
4.9 Door to Door waste Collectors (Kaya Bola) 
There is the practice whereby individuals, referred to in the local parlance as “Kaya Boola” 
move from house to house in some localities to collect waste. They collect they waste using 
either mechanized tricycles or hand drawn trolleys and charge the households or individuals 
some fee. Majority of them use improvised non-mechanize trolleys and hence exert a lot of 
manual power to move them. Usually they charge the fee based on the volume of the waste to 
be lifted at a particular time. It is important to note that these individual mobile waste 
collectors end up dumping the waste at the communal skips. This is because it is very 
difficult to hand pull or push the waste to the land fill sites which are more than two 
kilometer away. Some residents also observed that some of the ‘kaya boola’ also end up 
illegally disposing of the waste they collect from the various homes.  
 
4.10 Regularity of collection 
The regularity of collection is an important component of solid waste collection. Factors such 
as availability and capacity of skips, population of the area among others need to be 
considered in determining how regular the waste is collected.  
 
 
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Figure 4.3: Regularity of waste collection 
 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
It is illustrated in Figure 4.3 that 70% of respondents stated that waste is collected from their 
community once every two weeks, while 29% stated that waste is collected once per week. A 
very small proportion, 1% stated that waste is collected once per month. The author did a 
follow up with the municipal waste management department to investigate reason behind this 
pattern of waste collection (emptying of communal skips). The authorities stated that there 
were no sufficient funds to ensure frequent collection of the waste. This situation is likely to 
lead to distasteful behaviors from the people. Some of these behaviors include dumping on 
the ground, instead of inside the container, and burning of the refuse in the containers, which 
were evident, especially in Market area which is presented in plate 5.  The picture shows two 
skip containers within the Kasoa Market area which are overflowing with waste.  
 
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Plate  4: Photograph Showing Overflowing Skips at the Kasoa Market Area 
 
Source: Field work, September 2014 
 
4.11 Challenges facing Solid Waste Management 
As part of the objectives of the study, the challenges facing solid waste management within 
the municipality was investigated. From the structured interviews conducted with the 
municipal waste management personnel, it was observed that the challenges facing the 
municipality with regard to solid waste management include:  
1. Limited accessible roads to and from landfill sites,  
2. Limited financial resources,  
3. Low number of sanitation workers and  
4. Limited equipment and waste management materials.   
5. There is also limited dumpsite and hence the waste trucks have to travel far to other 
municipalities to offload the waste.  
The waste compacting vehicles are very heavy. Municipal waste management personnel 
indicated that because of lack of motorable roads to landfill sites sometimes the waste 
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collection vehicles get stuck in mud, especially during rainy season. Sometimes it takes up to 
about two months to be towed out. For that reason, during rainy season the truck drivers 
avoid plying waterlogged roads and hence have to travel for farther distance to discharge the 
waste and this adds additional cost to the expenditure. There are limited financial resources 
for solid waste management in the municipality because it is quite a young one. This makes it 
hard to employ more sanitary workers and purchase modern equipment and materials for the 
purposes of waste management. Investigations reveal that the municipality has two aged 
waste collection vehicles and one of them was broken down and was at the mechanic shop at 
the time of the interview. This is consistent with the findings of Ogawa (2005) who indicated 
that very limited funds are provided to the solid waste management sector by governments in 
developing countries and hence the levels of services required for protection of public health 
and the environment are not attained. 
 
4.12 Willingness to pay for Disposal 
The willingness of the respondents to pay for waste management services was also assessed. 
All respondents also indicated that they have ever paid or they know others who have paid for 
their waste to be lifted by the municipal waste management department or door to door waste 
lifters.  It is important that the recently introduced National Sanitation Day policy is 
implemented strictly to complement other by-laws of the municipal assembly to totally halt 
the indiscriminate disposal of refuse. Offenders should also be severely punished to serve as 
deterrent to other potential offenders. According to Baabereyir (2009), a study in Accra and 
Sekondi-Takoradi point out that there are few uniformed task force officers who seem to 
make little impact in preventing indiscriminate waste disposal in the two cities. “Even in their 
presence, people litter the streets without being arrested. At best, an offender will only be 
shouted at and asked to pick what he/she has dropped, an order most offenders do not obey” 
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(ibid). In the same study, it was found out that the assemblies have no special courts for waste 
disposal offences thereby relying on the regular courts to enforce the by-laws who however 
seem to regard waste disposal offences as trivial to merit attention. 
The municipal authorities should also take advantage of the willingness of the residents to 
pay to effectively introduce the “pay as you dump” (PAYD) policy. This would help to 
generate more finance resources to augment the meagre resources of the municipality. A 
similar policy introduced in James Town, Ussher Town, and Zongo where charges were 
levied depending on the size of one’s bucket did not work thereby encouraging people to 
dump their solid waste into gutters and drains and eventually leading to the system being 
abolished (Tsiboe et al 2004). 
 
4.13 Summary of Findings 
From the results presented above it is observed that the number of communal waste 
collections containers is woefully inadequate. Many of the residents also do not dispose of 
their waste in appropriate manner. They burn, bury or throw the garbage into drainages and 
other unapproved places. This is mainly responsible for insanitary conditions within the 
district capital. This then raises the question of governance and waste disposal problems in 
almost every region across the country. A study by Tsiboe et al (2004) in Accra revealed that 
the municipal authorities have not been able to keep pace with the rapid accumulation of 
waste resulting in waste being found in gutters, drains, and rivers in Accra.  
A report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2004) states that, “municipal solid 
waste has been disposed of anywhere anyhow without regard to the nuisance and harm 
caused to the environment. All kinds of waste, regardless of their nature are being dumped 
indiscriminately into depressions, sand pits, old quarries, beaches, drains and even in certain 
areas along streets”.  Indeed, this is an indication that the problem of waste disposal is a 
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national issue as the same pattern of disposal is observed between Accra municipality and the 
Awutu Senya municipality. 
 
It was also observed that sometimes the containers overflow, allowing residents to dump their 
waste on the surrounding environment which sometimes became an eye sore. In addition, 
domestic animals and birds like cattle, dogs, fowls and pigs go to the place to feed on the 
waste. It was also observed that the location of households within the municipal capital 
significantly influence the methods used for waste disposal. Locations such as Zongo, 
Downtown and Walantu residents were found to inappropriately dispose of waste.  
 
Finally, borrowing the words of Zia and Devadas (2007) it is concluded that to achieve 
financial sustainability, socio-economic and environmental goals in the field of municipal 
solid waste management, there is a need to systematically analyze the strengths and 
weaknesses of the community as well as the municipal assemblies capacities, based on which 
an effective decentralized system can be evolved with the participation of various 
stakeholders in Awutu Senya East Municipality 
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CHAPTER FIVE 
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
5.1 Summary of findings 
This study sought to critically assess the types of solid waste generated in the Awutu Senya 
Municipal Assembly. It also sought to identify how people dispose of domestic waste, how 
frequently waste is collected and disposed-of, the resources that are available in collecting the 
waste generated and challenges faced by ASEMA when it comes to solid waste management. 
In this chapter, a summary of main findings are presented. Also, the chapter draws 
conclusions from the main findings and makes some recommendations.  
 
The study revealed that communal skip containers were woefully inadequate in Awutu Senya 
East Municipal Assembly Capital, Kasoa. This culminates into indiscriminate disposal of 
refuse. Indeed, as many as 59.59 % of the households resort to illegal methods of disposal. 
These include dumping refuse in open depressions, open spaces in front of their houses and 
their backyards, drains and also by burning it.  
 
It is also observed that that a few skip containers are available for disposal and are in most 
occasions far (about 11 to 15 minutes’ walk) from most households. Seventy-two percent of 
the respondents in the neighborhoods where skips were available reached the sites for 
between 11 to 15 minutes’ walk and can inconvenience them.  It was also observed that all 
respondents to do not engage in separation and only a few (11 %) reuse the waste they 
generate. It means that the volume of the waste available for disposal is higher than it would 
have been if they had engaged in the separation and higher reuse of the waste generated. 
 
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It was also observed that sold waste management within the ASEMA faces challenges such 
as inadequate financial resources, low number of sanitation workers, outdated and limited 
number of solid waste management and equipment. Since all respondents are willing to pay 
for improved sanitation services, this would serve as a good source of finance for the 
municipal authorities to upgrade their equipment and solid waste management materials.  
 
5.2 Conclusions 
The results obtained from the data collected from the research field established that there is 
serious solid waste management problem within the metropolis, the major causes being 
inadequate financial resources by the metropolitan assembly to provide the necessary waste 
resources which has led to indiscriminate disposal of garbage within the metropolis.  
 
Many households and individuals burns, bury their garbage and throw the garbage into 
drainages and other unapproved places. Sanitation related diseases such as cholera and 
malaria affect most residents with malaria being the highest. The preferred method for 
garbage disposal is recycling (Zia and Devadas, 2007). It was also observed that sometimes 
the containers became overfull, allowing residents to dump their waste on the surrounding 
environment which sometimes became an eye sore. In addition, domestic animals and birds 
like cattle, dogs, fowls and pigs go to the place to feed on the waste.  
 
Borrowing the words of Zia and Devadas (2007) it is concluded that to achieve financial 
sustainability, socio-economic and environmental goals in the field of municipal solid waste 
management, there is a need to systematically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the 
community as well as the municipal assemblies capacities, based on which an effective 
decentralized system can be evolved with the participation of various stakeholders in Awutu 
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Senya East Municipality. Sensitization of the community members is also essential to achieve 
the above objective. The public apathy can be altered by awareness building campaigns and 
educational measures. There is the need to act and act fast as many communities within 
Ghana today are already a hotbed of many contagious diseases (cholera, malaria, typhoid), 
most of which are caused by ineffective waste management. To prevent any epidemic and to 
make the communities healthy places-economically and environmentally, there is an urgent 
need for a well-defined strategic waste management plan and a strong implementation of the 
same. 
 
5.3 Recommendations 
In light of the findings the study makes the following recommendations: 
1. The Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly (ASEMA) should consider as a matter of 
priority the use of other methods of waste disposal and reduction strategies such as the 
use of food waste and other organic components of waste to generate compost for use in 
agriculture and incineration. 
2. Furthermore, ASEMA should embark on a vigorous campaign for waste segregation since 
reusable or recyclable articles are not waste and can be used again and again before 
discarding. This can commence with institutions such as first and second cycles, tertiary 
institutions and in offices. 
3. The ASEMA should widen the polluter pays principle in waste management where waste 
generators are made to pay for the disposal cost of the waste they generate by volume in 
the municipality. This will be a very useful waste management tool which when properly 
applied can generate sustainable funds while creating economic incentives for waste 
minimization at source.  
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4. Even though, this study endeavoured to cover most of the relevant aspects of the theme, 
solid waste management is a very broad and can therefore not be exhausted in a single 
research. For that matter, it is recommended that future research for instant should look at 
public private partnerships in solid waste management.  
5. Though ‘kaya boola’ also served as a job creation opportunity, bad roads and uncollected 
skips where these ‘kaya boola’ are to dump their collections make them do otherwise; 
dislodging their wastes in uncompleted structures of individuals and in bushes later in the 
nights when most inhabitants in the communities are asleep. 
6. Finally, it is recommended that the Municipality should embark on a vigorous public 
education on the health and social impact of poor waste management.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Anomanyo, D.E (2004). Integration of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Accra, Ghana: 
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Asomani-Boateng, R. & Haight, M. (1999) Reusing organic solid waste in urban farming in 
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on  Final Results. Ghana: GSS 
 
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Ketibuah, E., Asase M., Yusif S., Mensah, M.Y. & Fischer, K. (2004), "Comparative 
Analysis of Household Waste in the Cities of Stuttgart and Kumasi-Option for 
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Kreith, F (1994). Handbook of Solid Waste Management. USA: McGraw Hill  
 
Kumah, A.M. (2007). The Situation of Solid Waste in Ghana. Accra, Ghana.  
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1/kma/?arrow. Accessed on 14th May, 2014 
 
Labuschagne, A. (2003). Qualitative research: airy fairy or fundamental? The Qualitative 
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Larbi, E. (2006). Sanitation in Ghana. DANIDA Water Sector Seminar . Ghana:  
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Mensah, A. & Larbi, E. (2005). Solid waste disposal in Ghana. Available at  
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Ministry of Finance-Government of Ghana (2013), The Composite budget of the  
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Ministry of Finance-Government of Ghana (2013), The Composite budget of the  
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Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development- (2004). Sanitation Profile of  
Ghana  (2004).Available at www.un.org/esta/agenda21/ghana/sanitationGHANA 
 
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development-Ghana (2009). National  
Report for Ghana Waste Management (2009); 18th Section of the United Nations 
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Reports/ghana). Accessed on 16 Feb, 2014. 
 
Momoh, J.J. and Oladebeye, D.H. (2010). Assessment of Awareness of Attitude and  
Willingness  of People to Participate in Household Solid Waste Recycling 
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Sanitation. Jakarta, Indonesia. 
 
Monney I., Makimula T.B., & Bagah H.C (2013). Characteristics and management of  
household solid waste in urban areas in Ghana: the case of WA. Civil and 
Environmental Vol.3, No.9, 2013 
 
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Ogawa,H.(2005). Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries.  
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Public Health and Epidemiology Vol. 4(6), pp.156-169, June 2012  
 
Ogwueleka, T. C. (2009), "Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics and Management in  
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International Journal,  18 (1,): 89-108 
 
Zurbrugg, C. (2009). Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries. Available  
atwww.sanicon.net . Accessed on 14th May, 2014. 
 
  
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APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRES 
INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
 
Topic: Sanitation Management in Awutu-Senya East Municipality 
 
Introduction:  
I am investigating waste management in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. I will be very 
grateful if you could spend some minutes to complete this questionnaire. The research is 
mainly for academic purpose only and therefore responses given by you will be kept 
confidential. Thank you. 
 
Questionnaire for Households 
Location of House: ..................................................................................... 
House Number (if available): ...................................................................... 
Date of Interview:......................................................................................... 
Questionnaire Number: ................................................................................ 
 
SECTION A 
Background Information 
1. How old are you? …………………………………………… 
2. What is your highest level of education? [ ] None [ ] Primary [ ] Middle/J.S.S/J.H.S [  ] 
Secondary/Technical   [  ] Vocational  [  ] Training College   [  ] Tertiary 
3. What is your major Occupation? [  ] Farming   [   ] Petty Trading   [  ] Business [ ]      
     Public servant [  ] Other, specify.......................................................................... 
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4. What is the name of your locality……………………………….. 
 
Please tick ONLY THE BOX of the response given or state responses briefly for 
questions/statements for which answers are not provided. 
 
SECTION B 
Place of Disposal of Household Waste 
5. Which of the following types of waste do you generate in your home? (You can tick 
more than one answer) [  ] Food wastes   [   ] Rubbish   [  ] Ashes [  ] Other, specify: 
............................................... 
6. Do you separate the waste generated in you household into various forms? 
 [  ]  Yes         [   ] No 
7. Do you reuse some of the waste items?  [  ]Yes     [   ]No 
8. Where do you dispose-off your waste? [  ] Roadside  [   ]  
Nearby gutter    [  ]  Skips    [   ] Waste bins     [   ] Backyard   [   ] 
Open spaces   [   ]Burn it     [  ]Dump sites      [   ] Collected by waste company or 
“Kaya Boola”    [  ]    Other, specify: ............................ 
9. If waste is collected by waste management company or “kaya boola”, do you  
            pay as waste is collected?  [  ] Yes     [   ]No 
10. If yes, on average how much are you charged per month?  [     ]     5  Cedis     
 [ ] 10 Cedis [ ]  15 Cedis[ ] 20 Cedis [ ] Other,    specify:..................................... 
11. Have you ever dumped your refuse at unapproved sites (anywhere else) 
because you did not have money to pay?      [  ]   Yes    [   ]   No 
12.  If waste is dumped in skip, approximately, how many minutes does it take  
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you to get to the site? [  ] 5-10mins [  ] 11-15mins   [   ] 16-20mins [  ] 21-25 mins [  ] 
More than 25mins. 
13.  If you travel more than 10mins to dispose-off the waste, does it inconvenience  
you?     [  ] Yes     [   ] No    (If No, go to Q8) 
14.  If yes, what do you do with the waste? I dump them in…………[   ] Nearest  
Available space    [   ] Nearest gutter   [   ] Burn them   [   ]Bury them   Other, 
specify............................ 
 
SECTION C 
Waste Collection by Waste management Institutions 
15. Which waste management institution collects waste in your area for disposal 
[  ] Management Department (Metro. Assembly)   [   ] Zoomlion   
[  ] None [  ] don’t know (If none or don’t know, skip to Q18)   [  ] other, specify: 
......................................... 
16.  How many times is the waste collected in a week?  [  ]Not at all four times     
[   ] Once   [   ] Twice   [  ] Thrice  [   ]  Five times  [  ] Throughout    
17. What is the mode of collection of waste in your area? [   ] 
Door-to-door [   ]  Communal   [  ]Curb   [  ]Other, (specify):........................ 
18.  If any of the modes, how many times a week?  [   ] Not at all   
Four times   [  ] Once   [   ] Twice [  ] Thrice   [   ] Four times  [   ] Throughout   
19.  Are you charged for the collection?   [   ]Yes     [   ]No 
20.  If yes (to question 13) How much? Indicate the amount in GH¢........................ 
21.  Are you willing to pay for the disposal of the waste you generate?   
[  ] Yes    [   ]No 
22. If yes, how much are you willing to per for the waste you generate per month  
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[   ] 2 Cedis    [  ] between 3 to 5 Cedis   [  ]between 6 to 10 cedis     [  ]between 10 to 
15 cedis   [  ]Other, specify…………………………….. 
23.  If no to question 15, why? Briefly state.  ……………………………………... 
24.  In your own view, suggest methods or ways in which waste disposal can be  
effectively managed in your area (You can tick more than one answer) 
[   ] Contributing to buy waste containers   [   ]Paying for the disposal and collection 
of waste   [   ] Stop dumping waste any how  [   ]  
Other (specify):.................................................................................................... 
25.  Are you able to do any of these? [   ]Yes      [   ]No 
26.  If yes, mention those that you are able to carry out.   
[   ] Contributing to buy waste containers    [   ]Paying for the disposal and collection 
of waste    [    ]Stop dumping waste any how   [   ] 
Other specify: .............................................................................. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
Topic: Sanitation Management in Awutu-Senya East Municipality 
 
Introduction:  
I am investigating waste management in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. I will be very 
grateful if you could spend some minutes to complete this questionnaire. The research is 
mainly for academic purpose only and therefore responses given by you will be kept 
confidential. Thank you. 
 
Questionnaire for Assembly Members 
Name of Electoral Area....................................................................... 
Location: .............................................................................................. 
Date of Interview: ............................................................................... 
 
SECTION A 
Please record answers in the spaces provided 
Solid waste collection and disposal 
1.  What is the estimated population in the area (in figures):  …………………….    
2. Availability of dustbins and skips 
Bins/Skips Number Available Number Required 
Dustbins   
Skips   
Others:   
3.  Are the skips and bins adequate?   [   ]  Yes     [   ]No 
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4. If the skips provided are not adequate, what happens to waste generated from  
households?  
.............................................................................................................................. 
.............................................................................................................................. 
5. Which waste management institution(s) manages the waste in the area? (If  
there is more than one mention all) 
..........................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................. 
6.  How many times does the collection take place in a week? 
.............................................................................................................................. 
………………………………………………………………………………….. 
7. What is the mode of collection and the number of times waste is collected per  
week in the following listed sections in the municipality?  
Name of Area Mode of collection Number of Waste bins 
required 
Kasoa   
Kpormetey   
Walantu   
Ofankor   
Akertey   
Opeikuma   
 
8. Do the people pay for the cost of collection?   [    ]Yes      [  ]No 
9.  If yes, indicate the amount per house/household in GH¢ ..................... 
10.  What is the mode of payment? 
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........................................................................................................... 
11.  Are the people able to pay?    [  ]Yes      [  ]No 
12.  If No, what are the reasons? 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
13. What happens to the waste if the residents are not able to pay? 
.............................................................................................................................. 
.............................................................................................................................. 
14. In your own view, what are some of the factors affecting effective waste  
management in the area? 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
15. Do you have any other relevant information regarding solid waste   
management in the area? (State them briefly). 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
16. Do you segregate the waste that is collected?  [   ]  Yes     [   ]No 
17. Do reuse some of the waste that is collected? [   ]  Yes     [   ]No 
18. Do you recycle all or some of the waste that is collected [  ]Yes     [   ]No 
19. What do you do with the waste that is not reused or recycled  
Incinerate [    ]       Dump at landfill site [  ]  
 
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INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
Topic: Sanitation Management in Awutu-Senya East Municipality 
 
Introduction:  
I am investigating waste management in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. I will be very 
grateful if you could spend some minutes to complete this questionnaire. The research is 
mainly for academic purpose only and therefore responses given by you will be kept 
confidential. Thank you. 
 
Questionnaire for Revenue Officer/Accountant of the ASEMA 
SECTION A 
Position of Respondent: .................................................................................... 
Date of Response: ............................................................................................. 
 
SECTION B 
Please record answers in the spaces provided 
Revenue and solid waste management 
1. How much revenue do you generate in a month? GH¢............................... 
2. How much do you spend on waste collection? GH¢.................................. 
3. How much do you spend on acquiring waste management equipment? 
GH¢.................. 
4. Amount spent on maintaining waste management equipment.  
GH¢.................................... 
5. How much common fund did you receive last year?  GH¢................ 
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6. How much of that is spent on waste collection? GH¢.................................. 
7. How much of that is spent on acquiring waste management equipment?  
GH¢............................... 
8. How much was on maintaining waste management equipment?  
GH¢............................. 
9. What are some of the challenges of managing solid waste in the municipality? 
1....................................................................................................................... 
2....................................................................................................................... 
3...................................................................................................................... 
4...................................................................................................................... 
10. How can these challenges be overcome? (State them briefly) 
1................................................................................................................... 
2................................................................................................................... 
3..................................................................................................................... 
4................................................................................................................... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
Topic: Sanitation Management in Awutu-Senya East Municipality 
 
Introduction:  
I am investigating waste management in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. I will be very 
grateful if you could spend some minutes to complete this questionnaire. The research is 
mainly for academic purpose only and therefore responses given by you will be kept 
confidential. Thank you. 
 
Questionnaire for Waste Management Department or Waste Collection Institution(s)  
Position of Respondent: ............................................................................. 
Date of Response: ....................................................................................... 
 
SECTION A 
Please record answers in the spaces provided 
Waste collection and disposal 
1. What is the most common type of waste regularly generated in the area? 
[  ] Food waste      [   ] Plastic waste      [   ]Agricultural and animal waste  [   ]Glass 
waste            [  ]Wood        [   ]Metal      [   ] 
Other, specify ……………………………………. 
2. One the average, how many waste compactor truckloads of waste do you  
collect in your area of operation in a day. (In figures): ............................. 
3. Do you segregate the waste before disposal? (Example plastics, woods,  
metals, glass, food waste among others)      [  ]Yes      [  ]No 
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4. If yes, indicate the reasons. 
1………………………………………………………………………………… 
2………………………………………………………………………………… 
3………………………………………………………………………………… 
4………………………………………………………………………………… 
5. If no, why? ……………………………………………………………………... 
6. What are the major components of waste generated in the area? (Indicate by  
ranking using the scale 1st , 2nd 3rd, 4th 5th and 6th.  
Major Component Rank 
Plastic  
Glass  
Wood  
Metals  
Food Waste  
Others…………………………………  
 
7. What is the cost of collection per week? GH¢.................................. 
8. Where do you dispose-off the waste collected from the various sections? Final  
disposal site) …………………………………………………………………… 
9. What is the distance covered to final disposal site in kilometers?  
................................ 
10.  Is the distance a problem?    [   ]Yes     [  ]No 
11. If yes, indicate the problems 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
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3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
12. How do these problems affect the frequency of waste disposal at the site? 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
13. What methods do you use in managing the solid waste generated in the area?  
(If more than one indicate them) [  ]Composting  [  ] 
Recycling [ ] Incineration [  ] ISWM (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle/landfill/incinerate) 
[ ]None  [ ] 
Other, (specify):.................................................... 
14. Why do you choose to use any of the method(s) for managing solid waste  
above? (Indicate the reasons in the spaces provided below). 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
 
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SECTION B 
Availability of Resources for Managing waste 
15.  Waste collection and disposal equipment (Indicate the number available and  
the number needed 
 
Equipment Number Available Number Required 
1.Dustbins   
2.Skips   
3.Oboafo tricycle   
4.Motorist tricycle   
5.Graders   
6. Skip Loaders   
7.Compaction trucks   
8.Roll on/Roll off trucks   
9.Bulldozers   
10. Road sweepers   
11.Bulldozers   
12.Road sweepers   
14. Others:   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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16. Availability of qualified personnel for managing waste (Technical Staff) 
Technical Staff Number Qualification 
   
   
   
   
 
17. In your view what are some of the problems facing the department in terms of  
managing waste? (List the most relevant four) 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
18. How can the problems be solved? (State them briefly) 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
 
Topic: Sanitation Management in Awutu-Senya East Municipality 
 
Introduction:  
I am investigating waste management in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. I will be very 
grateful if you could spend some minutes to complete this questionnaire. The research is 
mainly for academic purpose only and therefore responses given by you will be kept 
confidential. Thank you. 
Questionnaire for Kaya Boola  
Position of Respondent: ............................................................................. 
Date of Response: ....................................................................................... 
 
SECTION A 
Please record answers in the spaces provided 
Waste collection and disposal 
1. What is the most common type of waste regularly generated in the area? 
[  ]Food waste      [   ] Plastic waste      [   ]Agricultural and animal waste  [   ]Glass 
waste    [  ]Wood        [   ]Metal      [   ] 
Other, specify ……………………………………. 
2. One the average, how many waste compactor truckloads of waste do you  
collect in your area of operation in a day. (In figures): ............................. 
3. Do you segregate the waste before disposal? (Example plastics, woods,  
metals, glass, food waste among others)     [  ] Yes      [  ]No 
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4. If yes, indicate the reasons. 
1………………………………………………………………………………… 
2………………………………………………………………………………… 
3………………………………………………………………………………… 
4………………………………………………………………………………… 
5. If no,  
why?..................................................................................................................... 
6. What are the major components of waste generated in the area? (Indicate by  
ranking using the scale 1st , 2nd 3rd, 4th 5th and 6th.  
Major Component Rank 
Plastic  
Glass  
Wood  
Metals  
Food Waste  
Others…………………………………  
 
7. What do pay to for the final disposal of the waste you collect from  
households? [   ]Yes     [  ]No 
8. If yes what is the cost of collection per week? GH¢.................................. 
9. Where do you dispose-off the waste collected from the various  
sections?......................................................................................................... 
10. What is the distance covered to final disposal site in kilometers?  
................................ 
11.  Is the distance a problem?    [   ]Yes     [  ]No 
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104 
 
12. If yes, indicate the problems 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
13. How do these problems affect the frequency of waste disposal at the site? 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
14. What methods do you use in managing the solid waste generated in the area?  
(If more than one indicate them) [  ]Composting  [  ]Recycling   [  ]Incineration  [  
]ISWM (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle/landfill/incinerate)   [  ]None  [ ]Other, 
(specify):.................................................... 
15. Why do you choose to use any of the method(s) for managing solid waste  
above? (Indicate the reasons in the spaces provided below). 
1............................................................................................................................ 
2............................................................................................................................ 
3............................................................................................................................ 
4............................................................................................................................ 
 
 
 
 
 
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