Solid waste management practices in the Cape Coast metropolis

Abstract

This work examines solid waste management practices and the underlying factors responsible for the state of environmental sanitation in the Cape Coast Metropolis. In all, 240 respondents were targeted for the study. These included opinion leaders, as well as other residents of the metropolis. Multi-stage sampling procedures were applied to generate the sample for the study. The main tools employed in gathering the data were well structured questionnaires and personal observation. The outcome of the study revealed that increasing solid waste generation in the Cape Coast metropolis has not been accompanied with adequate sanitation facilities and management programmes. Notable among the waste management problems is inadequate operational funding from the assembly’s budget allocation for the collection and disposal processes. As a result, most residents disposed of garbage indiscriminately. The study recommended that to help improve the solid waste management situation; the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly should provide enough transfer stations in the various communities to minimize indiscriminate dumping of garbage.