Solid Waste Disposal in Ghana: A Study of The WA Municipality

Abstract

Many cities in Ghana have no controlled system for waste disposal. Waste is burned in pits, dumped in random locations, or disposed of in uncontrolled dumps without any further management. All these actions harm public health and the environment. The objective of the study is to assess solid waste disposal practices in relation to sex, age and educational level in the Wa Municipality. The research instruments used for the study were questionnaire, interview and personal observation. Simple correlation analysis was employed to determine among others the combined effect of age, sex and educational level on the solid waste disposal methods of households in the study area. Statistical tests of significance were performed to determine the models reliability at predicting future outcomes. Graphs, percentages and tables were used for analysis of the findings. The study revealed that sex, age and educational level negatively correlated with the solid waste disposal methods in the Wa Municipality. The study also revealed that, open dumping of solid waste is a common practice in the Wa municipality. While some employ the service of drains to transport their solid wastes out of their sight, some directly dump their solid wastes by the road sides. The study thus, recommends that the Wa Municipal Authorities should stop the use of the open dumping site and construct an engineered landfill for the disposal of solid waste in the Wa Municipality.

Keywords: solid waste, disposal, Wa Municipality