Accra, June 10, GNA – Stakeholders in Ghana’s sanitation sector have called for an urgent shift from landfill-dependent waste disposal systems to sustainable, engineered waste treatment infrastructure.
They have warned that persistent funding gaps could undermine efforts to maintain cleanliness and environmental safety within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.
The call was made during a high-level stakeholder dialogue on landfill and waste management held in Accra on the theme: “Alleviating Waste Disposal crisis in Greater Accra.”
The meeting brought together government officials, Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), sanitation experts, and private sector operators.
The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, in his keynote address, noted that rapid urbanisation and population growth continued to place enormous pressure on existing waste infrastructure.
He revealed that Ghana currently generated approximately 4,400 tonnes of solid waste daily, translating into about 1.6 million tonnes annually, with an average collection rate of 80 percent.
The Minister warned that daily waste generation was projected to rise significantly over the next decade, making investment in modern treatment facilities an urgent national priority.
He emphasised that sustainable financing remained the biggest obstacle facing the sector and acknowledged that waste management could not be left solely to market forces, drawing comparisons with countries such as South Korea.
He disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the Ministry of Finance to secure dedicated funding to settle outstanding obligations owed to private waste management companies.
The Minister challenged MMDCEs to take greater responsibility for sanitation outcomes, stressing that even the most sophisticated facilities could not function effectively without adequate operational funding, warning that delayed payments could trigger serious environmental and public health consequences.
The President of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) and Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, described reliance on landfills as an outdated approach that had repeatedly failed.
According to him, all 17 landfills constructed across the country with support from international partners reached capacity within a decade, stressing that modern systems should prioritise collection, transfer stations, recycling, and composting, with landfills as a last resort.
The President of ESPA noted that although international benchmarks recommended household waste collection fees between $15 and $20 in lower-middle-income countries, operators in Ghana struggled with low recovery rates.
He noted that the country could now boast of more than 50 waste treatments and composting facilities. Ghanaian firms are currently providing expertise in several African countries, including Kenya and Ethiopia.
Dr. Agyepong attributed this success to sustained investments in local expertise, revealing that sanitation service providers have supported the training of hundreds of highly qualified professionals.
The Vice Dean of the MMDCEs, Dr. Michael Mensah, assured stakeholders that local authorities remained committed to improving sanitation standards.
Research findings presented indicated that poor waste management costs Ghana more than GH¢6.2 billion annually through flood-related destruction, healthcare expenses, and environmental degradation.
Participants renewed commitment to strengthening collaboration between government, local authorities, and private service providers, emphasizing that policy discussions must translate into sustainable financing mechanisms capable of keeping Accra and the wider metropolitan area clean.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei