Evaluation of Solid Waste Disposal in Wa Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Safe waste disposal is necessary to limit the impact of waste on human health and the environment. This paper evaluates the status of solid waste (SW) disposal in the Wa Municipality, Ghana. The study adopted a descriptive research design and applied quantitative and qualitative research methods. 200 questionnaires were administered to two residential areas, each representing high-income, middle-income, and low-income residential dwellings. The study revealed that the majority of the respondents (33.5%) disposed of their SW in open spaces because any collection service did not cover them and those respondents who were covered by a collection service were not satisfied with the collection service due to irregular collection and inconvenient locations of communal collection containers. In addition, all collected SW in the Wa Municipality are openly dumped in illegal dumping sites across the municipality without any form of processing and treatment. The adoption of an integrated solid waste management system could improve SW disposal in the municipality .