Municipal solid waste disposal practices in the Wa Municipality

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in Ghana has resulted in poor environmental conditions in most urban settlements in the country. Household solid waste disposal by residents, in particular, has become an overwhelming problem in the Wa municipality. The study analysed the underlying factors affecting effective solid waste disposal and ultimately household solid waste management in the municipality and suggested possible measures to resolve the problem. The study used data collected from household residents in Wa municipal, and data from Wa Municipal Assembly, and the office of Zoom lion waste management company. The study gathered data from two main sources namely: secondary and primary sources. Three main techniques were employed in gathering the primary data: preliminary field investigation, interview schedule survey and face-to-face interview. The results of the study show that there is no adequate supply of storage facilities, household residents used inappropriate solid waste disposal methods, there is irregular collection of solid waste in the municipality, and there are inadequate resources for waste management institutions to effectively carryout their mandate. In the light of these problems enumerated above, the study recommended these among others, adequate supply of skips, regular collection of waste, pragmatic sanitary health education, and proper disposal of solid waste by residents and adequate resourcing of the waste management institutions.