Municipal solid waste management in Tarkwa Area Council (TAC), Ghana

Abstract

Effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management rids a community of filth and makes it healthy for human habitation. However, it is notably missing in several parts of Ghana as evidenced by low coverage and irregular waste collection services and an unconcerned public attitude towards waste disposal. The situation is exemplified in the Tarkwa Area Council (TAC), a mining community in Ghana. Lack of data on waste generation, storage, transfer and transportation and disposal in the area makes MSW management very difficult. The objectives of this research, therefore, are to investigate how MSW is managed in TAC, identify short falls and make appropriate recommendations for improvement. Questionnaires were given to 420 residents in the municipality focusing on their background, major environmental concerns, current waste disposal practices and their perspectives of general waste management. Air pollution, inadequate waste collection and unsafe waste disposal were the major environmental concerns of the residents. Food remains, sweepings and plastics are the major types of waste produced. About 45.5% of residents were not satisfied with the level of MSW management in TAC. Waste is not separated at source and hence, not subjected to recycling. The final waste disposal site is not engineered and is operated as a dump. © 2013 WIT Press.