By Emmanuella Owusu
Ashaiman, July 31, GNA – Mr Freeman Tsekpor, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has called for collective action to transform sanitation management in the municipality, urging residents to embrace waste segregation at source to address the area’s growing waste challenge.
Mr Tsekpor said Ashaiman generated about 150 tonnes of waste daily, while existing landfill sites were nearing capacity, making it imperative to adopt the reduce, reuse and recycle approach to waste management.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement on sanitation management, he described poor sanitation as a major public health, economic and environmental challenge that required the active participation of all stakeholders.
He announced a new initiative to promote waste segregation at source and encouraged households, businesses and institutions to separate plastic and rubber waste from organic waste.
According to him, the practice would reduce waste management costs, improve recycling and create economic opportunities.
He said recycling companies, including Smart Plastic and Safisana, could purchase recyclable materials and organic waste, create jobs and reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill sites.
“The Assembly cannot do it alone, and that is why we are here today,” he said, stressing that maintaining a clean municipality was a shared responsibility.
The MCE also called on traditional authorities, community leaders and educational institutions to intensify environmental education and promote responsible waste disposal practices.
He identified seven persistent sanitation black spots in the municipality as the High-Tension area at Fitter Line, the underbridge areas, the main road corridor from Ashaiman Roundabout to Presby Junction, Community 22 Annex, Jericho Bridge near the VALCO Flats, the Zone Two Dam Site and the Safisana Site.
Mr Tsekpor said the Assembly was prioritising the elimination of the hotspots to prevent indiscriminate dumping of refuse, improve environmental sanitation, and reduce the risk of flooding caused by choked drains.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said the Assembly would intensify public education, monitoring and enforcement of sanitation bye-laws to ensure compliance and improve environmental cleanliness across the municipality.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Emmanuella Owusu, GNA