Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi

KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMASI.

ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE COLLECTION INSTITUTIONS IN THE TAMALE METROPOLIS

TIA SAMPSON (PG 3118209) MSc. Environmental Science

A thesis submitted to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Master of Science (MSc) degree in Environmental Science

JANUARY, 2012

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work towards the MSc. and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person or material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree by the university or any other university, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the context.

Tia Sampson (PG3118209) …………………………… ………………………

(Students Name and ID) signature date

Certified by:

Mr. W.G. Akanwariwiak ……………………………… ………………………

(Supervisor) signature date

Certified by:

Dr. P. K. Baidoo …..……………………………… ………………………

(Head of Department) signature date

ABSTRACT

The increasing quantities of solid waste generated in the Tamale metropolis have not been accompanied with an equally increasing public and private sector engagement in the collection and the subsequent disposal of solid waste. There exist two private waste collecting institutions operating within the Tamale Metropolis (Zoom lion and Digital Cleaners) in collaboration with the Solid Waste Management Department of the Metropolitan Assembly. Digital Cleaners is into only house-to-house solid waste collection whiles Zoom lion‘s activities cover street sweeping, house-to-house waste collection and skip collection. The public sector institution on the other hand, is into only skip collection. The operation of the private sector cover 67% of the metropolis whiles the public sector covers 33%. Solid wastes collected are transported through the city uncovered. The solid waste collecting institutions have no specific route through which they transport solid waste to the land fill. Segregation and recycling of solid waste that reduces the volume of it before dumping is not effective. Notable among the waste management problems within the metropolis is inadequate operational funding from the metropolitan budget allocation for the collection and disposal processes. The public sector solid waste collecting institution faces problems such as irregular release of funds from the Metropolitan Assembly, inadequate and old skip trucks, inadequate staff, accidental fires in skips and lack of cooperation from the society and indiscriminate dumping of solid waste around skips and in unauthorized places. The private sector is more efficient than the public sector in terms of collecting and disposing off solid waste. The private sector operatives are able to lift all the skips within their operational area at least once every week. With those under the public sector operational area, 50% of the skips were lifted within 7 days and 50% were lifted after 7 days. None of the solid waste collecting institutions practiced daily collection of solid waste within the Metropolis. The major source of funding for Zoom lion is the Metropolitan Assembly‘s Common Fund whiles Digital Cleaners is self financing. The public sector solid waste management department of the Metropolitan Assembly gets its funding through the sanitation fund. It was also realised that on an average 86tons of solid waste are disposed off daily at the landfill site. A critical look at the distances of skips to the nearest household revealed that 55% of the skips were placed less than 40m to the nearest house hold, 25% placed between 40m-60m whiles 20% were found within 60m-120m to the nearest household.

iii DEDICATION

This piece of work is dedicated to my little daughter Grace Hatongmuah Tia and my entire family

(Tia‘s Family). This work is also dedicated to my dear wife Mahama Umuhera Sanje for her unrelenting support and prayer towards a successful completion of this work

iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank all those who contributed in diverse ways in the form of assistance, advice and prayer during the course of my study and in the preparation of this thesis. My sincere thanks go to Mr. W.G

Akanwariwiak my supervisor for his invaluable comments. My special appreciation goes to Dr. Fei

Baffoe a lecturer and the coordinator of the programme in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. I also extend my appreciation to Mr. Abongo David, the land fill manager in the

Tamale Metropolis. I also wish to thank Mr. Mohammed Abdullah the Operations Manager of

Zoomlion Ghana limited in Tamale and also the Director of Digital Cleaners.

v TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page i Declaration ii Abstract iii Dedication iv Acknowledgement v Table of Contents vi List of Tables vii List of Figures viii 1.0 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background to the Study 1 1.2 Problem Statement 2 1.3 Justifications for the Study 3 1.4 Objectives of the Study 4 2.0 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 5 2.1 Solid Waste 5 2.2 Solid waste management 8 2.3 Public Sector Solid Waste Management 17 2.4 Private Sector Solid Waste Management 17 2.5 Early Practices of Solid Waste Management 19 2.6 Contemporary Methods of Managing Solid Waste 19 2.7 Integrated Solid Waste Management 24 2.8 Problems of Managing Solid Waste 25 2.9 Solid Waste Management in Ghana 26 2.10 Financial Inflows into Solid Waste Collecting Institutions 31 3.0 CHAPTER THREE: MATERIALS AND METHODS 32 3.1 Profile of the study area 32 3.2 Primary data collection 38 3.3 Sampling Techniques 40 3.4 Data processing and analysis 43

vi 4.0 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 44 4.1 Solid Waste Collection Practices in the Tamale Metropolis 44 4.2 Extent of Private Sector Participation in Solid Waste Collection in the Tamale Metropolis 47 4.3 Problems/Challenges Faced By Private and Public Institutions in Solid Waste Collection in the Metropolis 48 4.4 Source of Funding For Public and Private Waste Collection Institutions 49 4.5 Solid Waste Influx 49 5.0 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION 53 5.1 Solid Waste Collection Practices in the Tamale Metropolis 53 5.2 Extent of Private Sector Participation in Solid Waste Collection in the Tamale Metropolis 63 5.3 Problems Associated With the Public Solid Waste Collection system In the Tamale Metropolis 64 5.4 Problems/Challenges Faced By Private Institutions in Solid Waste Collection in the Metropolis 65 5.5 Source of Funding For Public and Private Waste Collection Institutions 69 5.6 Solid Waste Influx 70 6.0 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 74 6.1 Conclusion 74 6.2 Recommendations 77 Reference 80 Appendices 86

vii LIST OF TABLES Tables Page

Table 2.1 Major Components of Solid Waste in the Tamale Metropolis 7

Table 2.2 Recommended frequency of waste collection 14

Table 2.3 Population and Number of Private Solid Waste Collecting Institutions in Some Selected Cities in Ghana 18

Table 2.4 Major Differences between the Options of Agreements 18

Table 3.1 Types of dwellings 34

Table 3.2 Locally Generated Revenue from 1999-2002 35

Table 3.3 Sub-Metros and Selected Areas of Study 40

Table 3.4 Stratification of Selected Areas of Study and Number of skips selected 41

Table 3.5 Random Sampling Procedure 43

Table 4.1 Solid Waste Collection Institutions and the Activities they engage in. 44

Table 4.2 Frequency of skips Filling and Evaluation in Selected Areas of Study 45

Table 4.3 Kinds of vehicles used by solid Waste Collection Companies in the Tamale Metropolis 46

Table 4.4 Solid Waste Collection Institutions and Their Frequency at the Landfill 46

Table 4.5 Source of Funding for Public and Private Solid Waste Collecting Institutions 49

Table 4.6 The Quantity of Solid Waste Hauled To the Landfill Site Daily 49

Table 4.7 Distribution of Skips in Selected Areas of Study 50

Table 4.8 Estimated Waste Generated per capita (kg) for some Selected Areas in the Tamale Metropolis 51

Table 5.1 Equipment Holding of TAMA 64

Table 5.2 Sub-Metros and the Number of Skips and Skip Trucks Available 69

viii LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

Figure 3.1 Map of Northern Region showing Tamale Metropolitan Assembly 32

Figure 4.1 Extent of coverage of public and private solid waste collection Companies in the Tamale Metropolis 47

Figure 4.2 Kinds of Solid Waste Collecting Activities the Private sector is engaged in within the Tamale metropolis 48

Figure 4.3 Distances of Skips from the Nearest Household 52

ix LIST OF PLATES Plate Page

Plate 3.1. A Skip belonging to TAMA Overflowing with Solid Waste 36

Plate 3.2. Accidental Fire on A Skip 36

Plate 3.3. Solid Waste Dumped in a Gutter 37

Plate 3.4. A Gutter Gradually being Taken Over by Solid Waste 37

x CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Thousands of tons of solid waste are generated daily in Africa, and most of it ends up in open dumps and wetlands, contaminating surface and ground water and posing major health hazards.

The rapid growth of cities in the developing world in recent times has resulted in increased consumption of resources to meet the growing demands of urban populations and industry, and this situation leads to the generation of large amounts of waste in cities. Due to weak institutional capacities and lack of resources, human and capital, waste management and sanitation in many cities of the Developing World, particularly in Africa, are in very deplorable state (N E H A, 2005).

All over the country solid waste is ultimately disposed off in both authorized and unauthorized waste dumps. All kinds of wastes, regardless of their nature, are being dumped indiscriminately into depressions, sand pits, old quarries, beaches, drains and even in certain areas, along streets, without due regards to the nuisance and harm caused to the environment (GEPA, 2002).

In 1999, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development produced an Environmental

Sanitation Policy document which sought to reform the solid waste management sector and allow private sector participation in solid waste collection, transport and disposal in the major cities of the country

1 1.2 Problem Statement

The problem of solid waste in Tamale has been characterized by single and ad hoc solutions such as mobilizing people to collect waste and desilt chocked gutters after a flood disaster or for just one occasion.

In 1998 four private solid waste contractors were engaged to collect and dispose off solid waste within the Metropolis with financial assistance from the World Bank. The operations of these private institutions were shot lived due to irregular flow of funds from the Metropolitan Assembly which hindered their activities when World Bank withdrew their support.

Currently the Tamale Metropolis has only two private companies who are into solid waste collection and for the purpose of effective administration, the city has been divided into three solid waste collection zones. The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly controls one of the three zones while the private sector manages two thirds.

A landfill was constructed and commissioned in 2004 for the disposal of solid waste in the Metropolis.

Solid waste was collected and disposed off in crevices and old gravel pits before the landfill was constructed. Even though, there exist a land fill for solid waste disposal in the Metropolis, not all the solid waste generated ends up in the landfill. Some are disposed off in waterways and undeveloped sites within the Metropolis.

This implies that both the public and private waste management institutions have a major role to play in ensuring efficient collection and disposal of solid waste within the Metropolis.

2 Information gathered indicates that the operations of the public and private solid waste management institutions cover only 75% of the Metropolis leaving 25% unattended to.

Within the coverage areas where solid waste collection is done, current statistics shows that 70% of solid waste is collected and disposed off leaving 30% of the waste uncleared. This may explain the springing up of several unauthorized dumpsites in communities within the Metropolis.

1.3 Justification for the Study

Tamale is the fourth largest and one of the fastest growing cities in Ghana with a population of about

294,000, a growth rate of 3.5% and with a size of approximately 922km sq (TAMA, 2007).

Puopiel, (2010) reported that, 216 tonnes of solid waste were hauled every day out of the 810 tonnes

generated daily. This means that a backlog of 594 tonnes was improperly disposed off in the entire

Metropolis. This results in littering of streets, dumping of refuse in drains thereby choking them. The

result is the general unsanitary conditions created within the Metropolis with the subsequent breeding

of mosquitoes and other flies which cause diseases not to talk of the perennial flooding of some parts

of the city.

It has also been observed that domestic, industrial as well as commercial wastes are poorly managed

giving rise to the degradation of the environment. Open spaces are abused in terms of use. They are

used for defecation and indiscriminate siting of disposal points for refuse (Abankwa et al., 2009).

Gyebi (2010), reported that the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly spends GH¢1,000,000 every year on

waste management, which is just about 40% of the GH¢2,500,000 required annually. Meanwhile,

about 80% of the vehicles at the disposal of the assembly break down frequently, with some being as

3 old as 25 years. He also reported that only 5% of the over 700,000 people living in Tamale pay their

sanitation levy, and attributed it to lack of education, non-enforcement of by-laws, and bad attitudes.

Municipal solid waste management is an essential public service which benefits all urban residents. It

is therefore not feasible to exclude from service those who do not pay, because public cleanliness and

the safe disposal of waste are essential to public health and environmental protection. As a result of

these characteristics, solid waste management is a public good for which local or metropolitan

governments are typically responsible (Cointreau-Levine, 1994).

1.4 Objectives of the Study

This work is aimed at examining the performance of public and private municipal solid waste collection institutions and their practices within the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana, and to provide a basis for addressing some of the lapses through an analysis of the performance of both public and private solid waste collection institutions in the Metropolis.

The specific objectives are:

 Determine the current solid waste collection practices in the Tamale Metropolis

 Identify problems/lapses associated with the public and private solid waste collection practices

 To find out the source of funding for public and private solid waste collection institutions in

the Metropolis.

 Determine the quantity/volume and rate of solid waste accumulation at collection points and

the frequency of collection and disposal at the landfill site.

4 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Solid Waste

Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, or sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply, treatment plant, air pollution control facility and other discarded materials including solid materials resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2011).

2.1.1 Municipal solid waste

Municipal solid waste refers to solid waste produced by households, commercial entities (excluding industries) and institutions. They are highly heterogeneous and are influenced by socio-geographical factors (Gershman, et al., 1986).

Municipal solid waste is defined to include refuse from households, non-hazardous solid waste from industrial, commercial and institutional establishments (including hospitals), markets waste, yard waste and street sweepings (Shubeler et al., 1996).

2.1.2 Sources and types of solid waste

2.1.2.1 Food waste

Food wastes are any food substance, raw or cooked, which is discarded, or intended or required to be discarded. Food wastes are the organic residues generated by the handling, storage, sale, preparation, cooking and serving of food (US EPA, 2010). Food waste includes uneaten portions of meals and trimmings from food preparation activities in kitchens, restaurants and cafeterias (Miller, 2004).

2.1.2.2 Rubbish

Rubbish consists of combustible and non- combustible solid wastes of households, institutions and commercial activities. This excludes food wastes or other highly putrescible materials. Typically,

5 combustible rubbish consists of materials such as paper, cardboard, plastics, textiles, rubber, leather, wood, furniture, and garden trimmings. Non-combustible rubbish consists of glass, tin cans, aluminium cans, ferrous and other non-ferrous metals, and dirt (Tchobanoglous et al., 1993).

2.1.2.3 Ashes and residues

Municipal solid waste combustion creates a solid waste called ash, which can contain any of the elements that were originally present in the waste. Municipal solid waste power plants reduce the need for landfill capacity because disposal of MSW ash requires less land area than does unprocessed MSW

(USEPA, 2012). However, because ash and other residues from municipal solid waste operations may contain toxic materials, the power plant wastes must be tested regularly to assure that the wastes are safely disposed to prevent toxic substances from migrating into ground-water supplies (US EPA,

2012). In urban areas, burning is not advisable, as the fly ash, toxic gases and acidic gases pose a much greater health threat in more densely populated urban environments than in rural areas (EGSSAA,

2009).

2.1.2.4 Special waste

Special waste is defined as any waste material which, because of its physical characteristics, chemical make up, or biological nature requires either special handling procedures or permitting, or poses an unusual threat to human health, equipment, property, or the environment (Miller, 2004).

2.1.2.5 Hazardous waste.

Hazardous wastes endanger many different classes of people, placing waste producers, collectors, landfill workers, waste pickers, and nearby residents at risk. The leachate from a landfill may be dangerous as well; its level of toxicity is directly related to the quantity and toxicity of hazardous materials mixed in with other solid waste (Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in

Africa (EGSSAA, (2009).

6 Management of hazardous wastes needs urgent attention in Africa. The variety and classes of materials and sources from households to industrial and medical facilities makes this particularly challenging

(EGSSAA, 2009).

2.1.3 Components of solid waste

Municipal solid waste contains waste products from all aspects of human activity and as such is an extremely complex and heterogeneous material. Increasingly, it has been shown that a few chemical compounds within municipal solid waste contribute significantly to environmental and health impacts

(Whitworth, 2005).

The characteristics of solid waste vary from place to place .Factors that influence the composition are the average income level, the sources, the population, social behavior, climate, industrial production and the market for waste materials. (Chandra and Linthoingambi, 2009).

In the Tamale Metropolis, the Waste Management Department and Zoomlion Ghana limited established that 0.45kg of solid waste is generated per capita and this amounts to 810 tonnes of solid waste is generated within the entire Metropolis. The composition of solid waste generated within the

Metropolis is presented in the table below.

Table 2.1 Major Components of Solid Waste Generated in the Tamale Metropolis

Component Percentage generated Plastics 57.5 Food waste 20 Metals 10 Paper 5 Wood 2.5 Glass 5 Total 100

Source: TAMA Waste Management Department and Zoomlion Ghana limited

7 Solid waste is composed of combustibles and non-combustible materials. The combustible materials include paper, plastics, yard debris, food waste, wood, textiles, disposable diapers, and other organics.

Non-combustibles also include glass, metal, bones, leather and aluminium (Zerbock, 2003).

2.2 Solid waste management

Waste management in Ghana is a complex issue that has been a major feature on the priority list of successive governments, local authorities, and international donors in recent years. Generally existing public facilities including sanitary facilities are inadequate to serve the user population, and the sheer volume of municipal solid waste generated in the country's urban centres is overwhelming (Peter and

Sam Jr., 2009).

Solid waste management is defined as the control of waste generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of solid wastes consistent with the best practices of public health, economics, financial, engineering, administrative, legal and environmental considerations (Othman,

2002).

The escalating problem on solid waste management in Ghana is due to various factors. Problems such as rapid urbanization, financial incompetence of local authorities lack of proper planning and management equipments for solid waste disposal have together escalated the already grave problem of solid waste disposal (WebGovernment, 2011).

Existing final disposal sites for municipal solid waste in Ghana are not engineered and may be described as crude dumpsites (Sam Jr., 2009). There is no waste separation at the sources of generation, and hazardous and clinical wastes are often handled together with municipal solid waste.

The situation creates a suitable environment for breeding of disease vectors such as mosquitoes and cockroaches and the proliferation of rodents such as rats and mice (Sam Jr., 2009).

8 It was also reported by KEEA, (2006) that, Residents set fires to the waste in their environment, to create space for further dumping. In doing so they cause atmospheric pollution and create health risks for themselves and their fellow towns‘ people. Burnt dumping grounds are still breeding places for flies and other vermin, which serve as vectors for disease transmission.

The areas are also used as defecating grounds, again posing further health risks to residents.

The KEEA also indicated that, at Mpoben, near the castle, Akotobinsin and Nyanta dumping sites without disposal facilities are situated very close to the main road. When fire is set to these, it causes smoke nuisance that impedes vehicular movement and can easily lead to road accidents.

2.2.1 Solid waste management processes

2.2.1.1 Waste generation

In Africa thousands of tons of solid waste are generated daily and most of it ends up in open dumps and wetlands, contaminating surface and ground water and posing major health hazards. Generation rates, available only for selected cities and regions, are approximately 0.5 kilograms per person per day—in some cases reaching as high as 0.8 kilograms per person per day (EGSSAA, 2009).

The residents of Accra currently generate large amounts of solid waste, beyond the management capabilities of the existing waste management system, because the solid waste infrastructure is inadequate, over 80 percent of the population does not have home collection services (Boadi and

Kuitunen, 2005). Only 13.5 percent of respondents are served with door-to-door collection of solid waste, while the rest dispose of their waste at communal collection points, in open spaces, and in waterways. The majority of households store their waste in open containers and plastic bags in the home (Boadi and Kuitunem, 2005).

9 According to Anomanyo (2004) about 1800 tonnes of municipal solid wastes were generated per day in the Accra Metropolis and the average waste generated per capita per day was estimated at 0.5 tonnes .This was based on the projected population of 1,610,867.

The waste generation rate of AMA was about 2000 tonnes a day with per capita waste generation of

0.45kg (Urban sector assessment report (2008). According to Tuani (2011), In spite of the strategies put in place for the collection of waste in Accra, all is not well for maximum waste collection.

According to the Waste Management Department (WMD) of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly

(AMA), only 45% to 55% of waste generated everyday is collected .Also, according to KMA (2006), the current domestic waste generation in Kumasi rate was approximately between 1000-1500 tonnes a day. It is established that population growth greatly contributes to an increase in waste production, it has also been empirically established that waste generation has increased rapidly over the years

(Martin, 2011). In Tamale for example, the amount of solid waste generated per day was 150tonnes in

2009 (Abankwa et al., 2009) and currently 810 tonnes per day (Puopiel, 2010).

Residential waste quantities are determined by population and generation rate (pounds per capita per day). The generation rates will vary based on the level of disposable income available to a community to spend on goods and services. (Gershman et al., 1986).

Nationwide estimates of the rate at which municipal solid waste is generated have been developed by public and private organizations. These estimates are simply average generation rates, which fail to account for local variations in income level and the types of businesses and institutions in a particular community. With these average generation rates and population data a rough calculation can be made

10 of the quantity of residential, institutional, and commercial and light industrial solid waste discarded.

(Gershman et al., 1986).

Developing countries have solid waste management problems different from those found in fully industrialized countries; indeed, the very composition of their waste is different from that of

‗developed‘ nations. Although low-income countries‘ solid waste generation rates average only 0.4 to

0.6 kg/person/day, as opposed to 0.7 to 1.8 kg/person/day in fully industrialized countries (Zerbock,

2003).

2.2.1.2 Storage

The storage of wastes generated by households before collection and transportation to the dump site involved the use of various receptacles. These receptacles included polythene bags, propylene sacks, metal bins, and disposing waste into pits dug at the back of the house (Downmore et al., 2011).

A research conducted by Martin (2011), in the Accra metropolitan area revealed that, solid waste was stored in polythene bags, card board boxes, and old buckets, which was quite prevalent in both the low and middle-income areas and the standard plastic containers in the high-income neighborhoods.

Another observation he made in Kumasi also showed that though some middle-income residents claim to be using standard containers, practical observation revealed the use of impoverished galvanized containers, possibly due to the high cost of the former. Martin (2011) also stated that, the use of unapproved storage facilities and children in waste disposal, especially in the low-income areas presents its own problems. This is because, in most cases, children find it difficult to properly access the containers due to their height. It thus become more convenient for them to throw waste on the ground

11 Storage of solid waste appropriately, is one of the major steps of handling solid waste within our communities. The MEFN (2000) outlined certain criteria that should be taken into account when establishing and maintaining storage facilities for solid waste which includes;

Storage facilities shall be created and established by taking into account quantities of waste generation in a given area and the population densities. A storage facility shall be so placed that it is accessible to users.

Storage facilities to be set up by municipal authorities or any other agency shall be so designed that waste stored are not exposed to open atmosphere and shall be aesthetically acceptable and user friendly.

Storage facilities shall be easy to operate and designed for easy handling, transfer and transportation of waste. Bins for storage of bio-degradable waste shall be painted green, those for storage of recyclable waste shall be painted white and those for storage of other waste shall be painted black.

Manual handling of waste shall be prohibited. If unavoidable due to constrains, manual handling shall be carried out under proper precaution with due care for safety of the worker.

2.2.1.3 Collection

Throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa solid waste generation exceeds collection capacity. This is in part due to rapid urban population growth: while only 35% of the sub-Saharan population lives in urban areas, the urban population grew by 150% between 1970 and 1990 (EGSSAA, 2009).

12 According to Anomanyo (2004), solid waste collection in the city is both on franchise and contract basis. On the franchise basis, a house-to-house collection is done in high income areas and the contractors charge the households some fees with weekly collection frequency. These areas are well- planned residential areas with access roads described as first and second class areas and include areas as Airport residential area and Cantonments. Each household has plastic containers with covers. These contractors then pay a tipping fee to the AMA for the use of its dump site (Anomanyo, 2004). He also mentioned that, there are three modes (curbside, communal container and house-to-house) of solid waste collection in Accra.

According to KMA (2006), there are two modes (house-to-house and communal) of solid waste collection in Kumasi Metropolis. The total waste collected on the average was 545 tonnes/day out of

1200 tonnes/day in Kumasi. KMA and the private companies collected on the average about 55%

(545tonnes) of solid waste generated in Kumasi with the remaining 45% partly recycle/reuse and partly uncollected and indiscriminately disposed off within the environment creating aesthetic nuisance and health problems (Oduro-Kwarteng et al., 2006). The private companies collected 501 tonnes/day whiles KMA collected 44 tonnes/day.

In low income communities characterized by limited access to refuse collection trucks or carts, door- to-door collection services is not economically feasible, and only a communal container or bell system is viable (Cointreau-Levine, 1994).

Collection by communal systems inherently involves collection from a public area not from a private establishment or household and requires the participation of the residents who bring their refuse to a communal container or to an attending refuse collecting vehicle (upon belling) (Cointreau-Levine,

1994).

13 These containers are therefore placed at certain vantage points where the population is high and the trailers accessible. There are no household collection points. Instead, individuals, mostly children, carry the waste to the disposal points, which in certain areas are as far as about 200 m away from their houses. The required maximum distance is 100 m (KEEA, 2006).

Anomanyo (2004) also added that, residents at Chorkor for instance, with a population of 45,379 have only two collection points where each of these points has two old containers. These are filled to the brim in the early hours of the morning and latecomers are turned away by the attendants. In the absence of attendants, garbage is left there and accumulates on the ground.

The collection of waste from dust bins is planned in accordance with frequency of container becoming full. The present location of dust bins and the waste collection point have been classified into daily collection (A type), weekly twice collection (B type) and weekly once collection (C type) as part of

Nirmal Nagara Programme. In addition, there are 20 dumper placer containers used as primary collection containers in commercial areas and bulk generator (Chandra and Linthoingambi, 2009).

Table 2.2 Recommended frequency of waste collection

Region Season Frequency

Tropics Dry Daily Wet Daily Temperate Summer Every 2days Winter Every 3 days Cool Climates Summer Twice a week Winter Once a week Source: Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in Africa (EGSSA) 2009

14 2.2.1.4 Transfer and transport

Waste transfer stations are facilities where municipal solid waste is unloaded from collection vehicles and briefly held while it is reloaded onto larger long-distance transport vehicles for transport to landfills or other treatment or disposal facilities (US EPA, 2011).

Transfer stations are not common in municipal waste management in African cities. One such facility, operated by the City of Abidjan, Cte d'Ivoire, is no longer functional. In almost all cases, the point of disposal of the MSW is located on the perimeter of the city, within easy reach of vehicles and collection crews. The collection vehicles are generally of the 6 - 7 m3 capacity and go directly from their point of last pickup to the disposal site (Palczynski, 2002).

Vehicles or containers used for the collection and transportation of solid waste shall be loaded and moved in such a manner that the contents do not fall, spill or leak. Covers shall be provided to prevent littering and spillage. If spillage does occur, the operator shall immediately return spilled materials to the vehicle and shall properly clean the spill area. In the event of a spill of a hazardous substance the department shall be notified.

MEFN, (2000) also indicated in their criteria for the transportation of MSW that, vehicles used for the transportation of waste shall be covered. Waste should not be visible to the public, nor exposed to open environment preventing their scattering. The criteria also indicated that storage facilities set up by municipal authorities shall be daily attended to for clearing of waste. The bins or containers wherever placed shall be cleared before they start overflowing. Transportation vehicles shall be so designed that multiple handling of waste, prior to final disposal, is avoided.

Downmore et al., (2011) reported that in Chinhoyi municipality, an open 7-ton truck and two tractor drawn trailers are used to collect and dispose MSW. He also mentioned that, the waste at times was blown away by wind from the open truck and tractor trailers, resulting in pollution of the environment.

15 2.2.1.5 Processing and recovery

No significant waste recovery and reuse activities exist in Accra. Waste pickers are involved in a small-scale recovery and reuse operation (Palczynski, 2002). It was also contained in the criteria of

MEFN, (2000) that municipal authorities shall adopt suitable technologies or a combination of technologies to make use of waste so as to minimize burden on landfill.

Some of these technologies include composting biodegradable wastes, vermicomposting, anaerobic digestion or any other appropriate biological processing for stabilization of waste.

Mixed waste containing recoverable resources shall follow the route of recycling. Incineration with or without energy recovery including pelletisation can also be used for processing waste in specific cases.

2.2.1.6 Disposal

Solid waste disposal in Ghana is a grave cause of concern and the chief areas of problems are indiscriminate dumping, lack of fitting disposal sites, troubles with proper solid waste disposal due to deterioration of road ways and escalating traffic woes. There is also no substitute for transportation

(WebGovernment, 2011).

Accidental fires are either auto-ignited from the decomposition of organic, or started by scavengers for heating. Smoke from these fires is contaminated and often toxic. Solid waste dumps remain unregulated; have no provision to guide against groundwater contamination and no separation, treatment or burying of solid waste is done. In addition wild dogs and other animals also carry waste from open dumps to nearby residential areas (MEM, 2004).

A research made by Poupiel (2010), also revealed that about 59.6% of low and high class residential areas dump waste in skips and dustbins whiles 40.5% resorted to dumping waste in either the roadside, dump, open spaces, nearby gutter or backyard within the Tamale Metropolis.

16 2.3 Public Sector Solid Waste Management

Public sector solid waste management is a service for which local government is responsible for the provision of waste management services to the benefit of the whole public. The services provided can be enjoyed by any resident without diminishing the benefit to anyone else. Solid waste management being an urban issue, the level of government responsibility is typically local or an issue of the

Metropolitan Government (Cointreau-Levine, 1994).

The Government remains responsible to ensure that a service is provided, and that it meets required standards in terms of reliability, efficiency, customer relation and environmental protection

(Cointreau-Levine and Coad, 2000).

The work of Abankwa et al., (2009) indicated that, the waste management department of AMA has generally relegated direct collection of solid waste to the private sector, itself concentrating on supervision of waste collection, monitoring of partnership system put in place, and management of final disposal points.

2.4 Private Sector Solid Waste Management

Privatization is the gradual process of disassociating state-owned enterprises or state-provided services from government control and subsidies, and replacing them with market-driven entities (EGSSAA,

2009). In the context of municipal services, privatization generally implies reducing local government activity within a given sector by involving participation from the private sector; or reducing government ownership, through divestiture of enterprises to unregulated private ownership, and commercialization of local government agencies (EGSSAA, 2009).

Private sector participation in solid waste management concerns the involvement of companies, organizations or individuals in solid waste management in a Municipality, Metropolis or a District.

17 Privatization usually arise as a result of the existing service delivery being costly or inadequate

(Cointreau-Levine, 1994).

Kwarteng and Van Dijk (2008) categorized some selected cities in Ghana according to their population and the number of private solid waste collecting companies operating there. These statistics are presented in the table below.

Table 2.3. Population and number of private solid waste collecting companies in some selected cities in Ghana City Population No. of Private Companies Accra 1,658,937 18 Kumasi 1,170,436 6 Tema 506,400 8

Source: Kwarteng and Van Dijk (2008)

Cointreau-Levine and Coad (2000), also mentioned that, the ranges of activities and scales of the private sector operations are very large, from pre-collection of domestic waste from a small urban to the operation of a large sanitary landfill. There are many forms of private sector involvement, varying from reduced government control to complete private sector ownership of solid waste management.

It was also mentioned by Cointreau-Levine and Coad that, the private waste management companies may be reluctant to participate in a contract because they fear that local government will not pay regularly and on time. Table 2.2. Shows some of the major differences between the options.

Table 2.4.Major differences between the options of agreements.

Arrangement source of income monopoly in service area? Type of work Contract Government Yes Service

Franchise Customers Yes Service

Private subcription Customers No Service

Concession government and user fees Yes Construction and operation Source: Cointreau-Levine and Coad (2000).

18 2.5 Early Practices of Solid Waste Management

All over the country, waste collected is disposed off in waste dumps. Though there are such daily operations as vector and rodent control and covering of waste with soil at authorized waste dumps, these waste disposal facilities in most urban areas are not properly designed and engineered facilities

(Babanawo, 2006). They are either natural depressions or old quarries which have been adopted for waste disposal. In the rural areas and smaller towns, communities dispose off their waste in natural depressions or in abandoned sand or clay pits, and in coastal communities, disposal off waste on the beaches is a common practice (Babanawo, 2006). All over the country solid waste is ultimately disposed off in both authorized and unauthorized waste dumps. ― All kinds of wastes, regardless of their nature, are being dumped indiscriminately into depressions, sand pits, old quarries, beaches, drains and even in certain areas, along streets, without due regard to the nuisance and harm caused to the environment‖(GEPA, 2002).

2.6 Contemporary Methods of Managing Solid Waste

2.6.1 Sanitary landfill

A common practice in many areas of the country, until recently, was open dumping. Public pressure forced most communities to switch to sanitary landfill as the standard method of disposal. Whiles landfill improves the aesthetic and environmental quality of disposal sites, other environmental problems such as groundwater contamination can occur at an improperly operated site (Gershman, et al., 1986). In an attempt to remedy the environmental threat of municipal solid waste disposal sites, there is a law in the US giving EPA the authority to close open dumps and to upgrade the quality of landfills. Disposal cost has escalated during the past decade for several reasons. Public demand for environmentally sound disposal practices and the need to locate landfill areas distant from population centre are two important factors that have contributed to the cost increase (Gershman, et al., 1986).

19 Open dumps are characterized by the lack of engineering measures, no leachate management, no consideration of landfill gas management, and few if any , operational measures such as registration of users, control of the number of tipping fronts or compaction of waste (Zerbock, 2003).

The disposal of solid waste has always been an intractable problem throughout Ghana. Landfills in

Ghana are primarily open dumps without leachate or gas recovery systems. Several are located in ecological or hydrologically sensitive areas. They are generally operated below the standards of sanitary practice. Municipal budgetary allocations for operation and maintenance are always inadequate. The result is substandard and unsafe facilities which pose public health risks and aesthetic burdens to the citizens they are meant to serve. It is estimated that throughout the country only about

10% of solid wastes generated are properly disposed off (Mensah and Larbi, 2005).

In the last few years problems with solid waste disposal have assumed increased prominence as a political issue especially in the urban areas. With low central government budgets and weak capacity for internally generated funds, most District Assemblies find sustained operation of controlled landfill sites a real burden. However, there is a real need for improvement in current levels of operations and in the design and siting of new facilities to ameliorate current levels of environmental degradation

(Mensah and Larbi, 2005).

According to KSreith (1994), there are simply no combinations of waste management techniques that do not require land filling to make them work. He also mentioned that some waste are simply not recyclable, many recyclable waste eventually reach a point when their intrinsic value is completely dissipated and they no longer can be recovered, and recycling itself produces residuals.

20 2.6.2 Recycling

Recycling of bio-degradable domestic waste into nutrient stable compost can result in both reduction of waste and reduction in water pollution through substitution of chemical fertilizers by compost in urban agriculture.

In a case study of urban agriculture farmers in Harare, Kisner (2008) recommended that the current farming practices of using chemical fertilizers were leading to underground water pollution through eutrophication and leaching. The composting of MSW and availing of such compost to urban agriculture farmers could assist in pollution mitigation.

Though high- and low-value recyclables are typically recovered and reused, these make up only a small proportion of the total waste stream. The great majority of the waste (~70 percent) is organic. In theory, this waste could be converted to compost or used to generate biogas, but in situations where rudimentary solid waste management systems barely function, it is difficult to promote innovation, even when it is potentially cost-effective to do so. In addition, hazardous and infectious materials are discarded along with general waste throughout the continent. This is an especially dangerous condition that complicates the waste management problem (EGSSAA, 2009). Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources. Collecting used bottles. Cans, and newspapers and taking them to the curb or to a collection facility is just the first in a series of steps that generates a host of financial, environmental, and social returns. Some of these benefits accrue locally as well as globally (US EPA, 2011).

2.6.3 Composting

During the last few years, composting has gained wide acceptance as a key component of integral solid waste management. However, a vigorous debate continues about what materials should be composted, and in particular, whether composting should be limited to organic waste separated at their

21 source (by individual households) or applied more broadly to mixed municipal solid waste (Richard and Woodbury, 1998).

In the European Union the average biodegradable waste generated from households was 40% (Wullt,

2010). In the Kenyan Capital, Nairobi, Muniafu and Otiato (2007) reported a biodegradable component of 40% of the total MSW. In one of the cities in Ghana, Kumasi, Ketibuah et al (2010)

Indicated that the bulk of household waste is found to be organic waste which includes food waste and pustrecible waste with an average of 55%.

There are several important tradeoffs between these approaches, including the quantity of material diverted from landfills, the quality of the final compost, the impact on recycling and the cost

(Richard and Woodbury, 1998).

Mensah and Larbi (2005) stated that, conditions in Ghana are very conducive for composting in terms of waste composition and weather conditions. However, composting has never flourished as an option for refuse treatment and disposal. Most local authorities feel, based on local experience, that the running costs of composting plants are excessive and unjustifiable.

The only known large composting plant in the country was built with external donor support and commissioned in the early 1980s. During its early years of operation the plant was useful in helping reduce the volume of waste. However high maintenance costs adversely affected its sustainability. In the last few years most of the mechanical components have been decommissioned and the plant currently operates only for demonstration purposes (Mensah and Larbi, 2005).

22 2.6.4 Source reduction

At the national level, there are several methods which can be employed to reduce the production of waste. These include redesign of packaging, encouraging the use of minimal disposable material necessary to achieve the desired level of safety and convenience; increasing consumer awareness of waste reduction issues; and the promotion of producer responsibility for post-consumer wastes (UNEP

1996). These goals may be achieved through a variety of measures, including legislative action and the creation of market forces and economic incentives which would drive these reforms forward; applicability of each goal and method would depend on circumstances present in each situation

(Zerbock, 2003).

The most effective way to reduce waste is not to create it in the first place. By reducing and reusing, consumers and industry can save natural resources and reduce waste management cost. Unfortunately, the amount of waste generated in the United States has been increasing. Between 1960 and 2009 the amount of waste each person creates increased from 2.7 to 4.3 pounds per day (USEPA, 2011). This results in about 243 million tones of waste generated in the US in 2009. Waste prevention ,or source reduction is the strategy behind reducing and reusing waste ,by designing, manufacturing, purchasing

,or using materials in way that reduce the amount or the toxicity of trash created, less waste is generated and fewer natural resources are used (USEPA, 2011). Reuse is often part of the waste prevention strategy, stopping waste at the source due to preventing or delaying a material‘s entry in the waste collection and disposal system. Source reduction refers to any change in the design, manufacture, purchase or use of materials or products (including packaging) to reduce their amount or toxicity before they become municipal solid waste. Source reduction also refers to the reuse of products or materials.

23 2.6.5 Incineration

According to Mensah and Larbi, (2005), the national policy recommends small scale incineration plants for the treatment and disposal option for health care and hazardous wastes. In most towns with health facilities small incinerators have been built as part of the health provision infrastructure. These facilities involve simple designs with lateritic bricks, cement blocks and metal. Local firewood is the most common energy source and the facilities are easily operated and maintained by environmental health staff of the District Assemblies (Mensah and Larbi, 2005). These simple incinerators have provided several years of service in dealing with relatively small quantities of hazardous hospital wastes. However in reality many of such facilities have no environmental controls and often comprise nothing more than combustion of medical and chemical waste in an oven or open pit (Mensah and

Larbi, 2005).

2.7 Integrated solid waste management

This involves the evaluation and integration of all the functional elements of waste management for effectiveness and economic efficiency. Because waste management objectives and goals vary from one municipality to another the assessment of various options to integrate the functional elements of solid waste management should be driven by stated goals and objectives (Babanawo, 2006)

A number of African countries have been implementing integrated waste management (IWM). It refers to the complementary use of a variety of practices to safely and effectively handle municipal solid waste (Palczynski, 2002). The strategy used to develop an integrated waste management system is to identify the level or levels at which the highest values of individual and collective materials can be recovered. The most favorable is reduction, which suggests using less to begin with and reusing

24 more, thereby saving material production, resource cost, and energy. The least desirable is landfilling

(Palczynski, 2002).

A community or a municipality is said to have developed an Integrated Waste Management System

(IWMS) when all of the functional elements of waste management have been evaluated for use, and all of the interfaces and connections between elements have been matched for effectiveness and economy to meet community waste management goals and objectives (Babanawo, 2006).

2.8 Problems of managing solid waste

Ogawa (2005) categorized the challenges faced by most solid waste management system in a developing country into technical, financial, institutional and social constraints.

He mentioned that, in most developing countries, there typically is a lack of human resources at both the national and local levels with technical expertise necessary for solid waste management planning and operation. Many officers in charge of solid waste management, particularly at the local level, have little or no technical background or training in engineering or management.

Another technical constraint in developing countries is the lack of overall plans for solid waste management at the local and national levels.

It was also stated by Ogawa (2005) that, solid waste management is given a very low priority in developing countries, except perhaps in capital and large cities. As a result, very limited funds are provided to the solid waste management sector by the governments, and the levels of services required for protection of public health and the environment are not attained.

On institutional constraints, Ogawa (2005) indicated that, lack of effective legislation for solid waste management, which is a norm in most developing countries, is partially responsible for the roles/functions of the relevant national agencies not being clearly defined and the lack of coordination among them. However, as these facilities are usually considered unwanted installations and create not- in-my-backyard (NIMBY) syndromes among the residents, no local government is willing to locate them within its boundary (Ogawa, 2005).

2.9 Solid Waste Management in Ghana

Ghana like most developing countries is faced with serious solid waste management problems.

All over the country solid waste is ultimately disposed of in both authorized and unauthorized waste dumps. ―All kinds of wastes, regardless of their nature, are being dumped indiscriminately into depressions, sand pits, old quarries, beaches, drains and even in certain areas, along streets, without due regards to the nuisance and harm caused to the environment.‖ (GEPA, 2002).

On a daily basis, each household generates garbage or waste items that are no longer needed or which are not being used, fall in the category of waste and we tend to throw them away (Danso, 2011).

Danso (2011) also indicated that, in the 2000 Population and Housing Census, Ghana‘s population was

18.9 million. With an average daily waste generation per capita of 0.45 kg, Ghana generates annually about 3.0 million tons of solid waste. Accra, the capital, and Kumasi, the second largest city, with a combined population of about 4 million and a floating population of about 2.5 million generate over

3,000 tons of solid waste daily. According to Danso, (2011) solid waste generation levels in the country can be classified into different types depending on their source:

26 Household waste, public or general waste (in markets, lorry parks, open spaces, streets, etc.) Industrial waste, (Saw dust/wood shavings, metal scraps, etc). Biomedical waste or hospital waste (Surgical waste, swabs materials, etc). Institutional waste from institutions such as schools, offices, stores, department, etc.

2.9.1 Solid waste collection and disposal

Home collection of waste is limited to high and some middle income areas while the poor are left to contend with the problem on their own. This leads to indiscriminate disposal of waste in surface drains, canals and streams, creating unsanitary and unsightly environments in many parts of the urban cities in Ghana (Danso, 2011).

Generally, conditions of waste disposal in Ghana are similar to those in many developing countries within the tropical climates. The majority of landfills in Ghana are open dumps even though these are strongly discouraged in the national sanitation policy. The methods for solid waste disposal in Ghana are: uncontrolled dumping of refuse controlled dumping, sanitary land filling, composting, and incineration (Danso, 2011).

2.9.2 Environmental issues

The decomposition of waste into constituent chemicals is a common source of local environmental pollution. This problem is especially acute in developing nations; very few existing landfills in the world‘s poorest countries would meet environmental standards accepted in industrialized nations, and with limited budgets there are likely to be few sites rigorously evaluated prior to use in the future

(Zerbock, 2003).

In the absence of proper methane venting and/or flaring, the gas seeps into porous soil surrounding the waste and eventually migrates into basements and homes, posing an explosion risk. Carbon dioxide is

27 a second predominant gas emitted by landfills; although less reactive, buildup in nearby homes could be a cause of asphyxiation (Zerbock, 2003).

There are some human health risks associated with solid waste handling and disposal in all countries to some degree, but certain problems are more acute and widespread in underdeveloped nations.

Cointreau (1982) has classified these into four main categories: 1) presence of human fecal matter, 2) presence of potentially hazardous industrial waste, 3) the decomposition of solids into constituent chemicals which contaminate air and water systems, and 4) the air pollution caused by consistently burning dumps and methane release.

Human fecal matter is present in every solid waste system; in developing nations the problem varies with the prevalence of adequate sanitary disposal systems such as municipal sewerage or on-site septic systems, outhouses, etc (Zerbock, 2003). In areas where such facilities are lacking (especially shanty towns and over-crowded municipal districts), the amount of human fecal matter present in the solid waste stream is likely to be higher (Zerbock, 2003).

The usual disease pathways include placing contaminated hands in the mouth or eating food, through vector insects such as cockroaches or mosquitoes, or by directly inhaling airborne dust particles contaminated with pollutants (Zerbock, 2003)..

2.9.3 Waste management regulation and policy

The MLGRD (2004) contains waste management regulations and policies to guide the operations of the public and private solid waste management institutions in the country. Some of these waste management regulations and policies contained in the MLGRD (2004) pertaining to the public and private sectors are presented below.

28 2.9.3.1 Private Sector

The bulk of environmental sanitation services shall be provided by the private sector, including NGOs and community based organizations under the supervision of the Public Sector, especially the

Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. The public sector shall maintain adequate capacity to provide not less than 20% of the sanitation services and reserve the right to take measures to intervene and provide the services in the event of failure of the private sector to deliver the services due to industrial actions in their establishments or other reasons.

The private sector shall operate within policies, regulations, supervisory and licensing arrangements set up by the public sector to promote efficiency and competitiveness.

No single private sector organization shall be given monopoly in the delivery of sanitation services in anyone human settlement except in settlements with a population of 15,000 or less. In all other settlements, the town/city shall be zoned for purposes of sanitation services delivery.

Where possible, environmental sanitation services shall be provided by the private sector on a full cost recovery basis, under franchise or concession agreements. Where full cost recovery is not possible the

Assemblies may enter into contracts with service providers. The following services shall be undertaken by the private sector:

(a) Provision and management of septage tankers, on a fully commercial basis subject to licensing and the setting of maximum tariffs by the Assemblies;

(b) Construction, rehabilitation and management of all public baths and toilets, subject to the supervision and setting of maximum tariffs by the Assemblies;

(c) Solid waste collection from individual institutional or domestic customers, subject to the supervision and setting of maximum tariffs by the Assemblies;

29 (d) Solid waste collection from communal containers under contract to the Assemblies, Unit

Committees or community groups or as part of a franchise covering both high and low income areas;

(e) Cleansing of designated areas and facilities (streets, drains, markets, lorry parks, etc.) and maintenance of drains, under the agreements covering solid waste collection;

2.9.3.2 Role of the Public Sector

(a) Government and the Assemblies shall establish an enabling environment at all levels by enacting appropriate legislation, harmonizing byelaws governing environmental sanitation service and developing standard contract and franchise documents;

(b) Contracts, leases, franchises etc. Must be clearly defined and awarded transparently and in such a way as to ensure active and fair competition;

( c) Strong and effective supervisory, licensing and performance measurement systems shall be implemented by the Assemblies;

(d) Assemblies must closely monitor costs (both internally and in the private sector), including the full cost of replacing capital equipment, so as to ensure the fixing of realistic and economically viable tariffs;

( e) The assemblies shall carry out public education campaigns to raise the status of environmental sanitation, public awareness of the costs involved and understanding of the need to pay for it;

(f) The Assemblies shall enforce public participation in franchised services such as solid waste collection which have an impact on community well-being.

(G) The Assemblies shall establish hire purchase arrangements for the transfer to the private sector of the environmental sanitation plant and equipment they own; Government shall revise the investment code to facilitate the import and reduce taxation of capital equipment for environmental sanitation.

30 Functions to be transferred to the Assemblies in order to enable effective co-ordination with other environmental sanitation activities, all storm water drainage, sanitary sewerage and other functions related to environmental sanitation and presently assigned to Central Government agencies must be transferred to the District Assemblies.

When these functions are transferred, the corresponding and operating budgets, personnel and equipment should also be transferred. Budgets to be transferred to the Assemblies shall in addition exist Central Government subventions from all sources. They shall be transferred by permanently increasing allocations made through the District Assemblies' Common Fund.

2.10 Financial Inflows into Solid Waste Collection Companies

According to Anomanyo (2004), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly spends about two billion Cedis per month (about $227,000) on waste collection alone and about 12 billion Cedis per year on urban solid waste management. This amount does not however cater for about 30 per cent of solid waste in the metropolis (EPA, 2002).

In 1999, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development produced an Environmental

Sanitation Policy document which sought to reform the solid waste management sector and allowed private sector participation in solid waste collection, transport and disposal in the major cities.

31 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Study Area

3.1.1 Location and Size

As shown in figures 3.1, the Tamale Metropolitan Area is located at the centre of the Northern

Figure 3.1: Map of Northern Region showing Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (Tamale metropolitan assembly, 2007)

32 The Tamale Metropolitan area is located at the centre of Northern Region (figure 3.1). It shares common boundaries with Savelugu/Nanton District to the north, Tolon / Kumbungu District to the west, Central Gonja District to the south-west, East Gonja District to the south and Yendi Municipal to the east. The Tamale Metropolis occupies approximately 750 square kilometre which is 13 per cent of the total area of the Northern Region. Tamale became a district in 1988 by Legislative Instrument

1453. It was called West Dagomba District Assembly. It was then promoted to West Dagomba

Municipal Assembly in 1994 and finally elevated to the status of a Metropolitan Assembly in 2004 by legislative instruments (LI) 1801 of the Local Government Act 1993, (Act 462). (Tamale Metropolitan

Assembly, 2007).

3.1.2 Demographic Characteristics

According to Addai (2005), the Tamale Metropolis has a population of about 301,000 with a growth rate of 4%. Tamale is a fast growing city and as a result, a lot of people move to the city to do businesses (Abankwa et al., 2009).

With an urban population of 67.1 per cent; the Metropolis is the only district in the region which is predominantly urban. The population density is 318.6 persons per square kilometer for the Metropolis and the regional average density is 25.9 persons per square kilometer (Puopiel, 2010). The growth rate and the density of population in the area have implications for waste generation and management.

3.1.3 Household Characteristics

A total of about 45,269 households live in the Tamale Metropolis. Out of this total, about 69.8 per cent live in rooms in compound houses. It is common among the Dagomba people to have large families.

Until recently, this practice was to get more people to help on family farms. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, it is considered a great pride among the Dagombas to have more than one wife. The

33 number of children one has is one of the indices for measuring one‘s wealth. About 65 per cent own their dwellings. The average household size is 6.5. The types of dwellings are shown in table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Types of dwellings

Dwellings Number Percentage Separate house 6142 13.6 Semi-detatched house 2827 6.2 Flat/apartment 946 2.1 Rooms(compound) 31601 69.8 Hut/buildings(same compound) 3305 7.3 Hotel/hostel 133 0.3 Tents 31 0.1 Kiosk/container 68 0.2 Living quarters attached to shop/office 64 0.1 Others 152 0.3 Total 45269 100 Source: TAMA, 2007

These compound dwellings are found mostly in the low class residential areas such as Sakasaka,

Moshi Zongo, Aboabo, Nyohini and Lamashegu. Also, flats/apartments and living quarters are found in the middle class and high class residential areas which include SSNIT Flats, Kalpohin Estates,

Vitting Estates, Education Ridge, Ghanasco and Russian Bungalows.

3.1.4 Revenue

Waste management has huge financial implications. The Assembly depends heavily on the District

Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to finance waste management. On the other hand, the locally generated revenue has also improved over the years. The Assembly has been recording a high growth rate of an average of 91.17% achievement of the yearly budget. However, the actual performance over the period has increased from 36 per cent to 350%. Hitherto, the Assembly uses its own revenue collectors, but in the period she employed development partners who assisted in revenue collection especially in the area of property rate (TAMA, 2007).

34 Table 3.2 Locally Generated Revenue From 1999-2002

Year Budgeted (GH¢) Actual (GH¢) Performance (%)

1999 26,4404.02 23,002,584,794 87.12 2000 102,809.6 31,390,4755.00 30.53 2001 65,648.7 45,780,089,311 69.73 2002 71,300.8 126,427,031,503 177.31 Grand Total 266,163.12 226,600,181108 91.17

Source: Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, 2007

Table 3.2 below shows locally generated revenue, targeted and actual from 1999-2002 in Ghana cedis

(GH¢).

Therefore, if the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) of the Assembly is increasing, it is a potential to sustainable source of funding for waste management. This is because the Assembly is the major financier of managing solid waste in the area. A total amount of about GH¢22,221 was used to finance waste management, water and sanitation projects in 2001.

3.1.5 Waste Management Situation in the Tamale Metropolis

The current solid waste collection practices within the low- income level residential areas are very appalling and have to be investigated. The situation ranges from abandonment of skip containers with refuse overflowing for several weeks to the dumping of solid waste indiscriminately and burning of skips with solid wastes as may be seen in the pictures below.

35 Plate 3.1. A skip belonging to TAMA overflowing with refuse at St Charles area. Picture: 2816x2112

Plate 3.2. Accidental fire in a skip belonging to Zoomlion Ghana Ltd. Picture: 2816x2112

36 Plate 3.3. Solid waste dumped in a gutter at Gumbihini in the Tamale metropolis. Picture: 2816x2112

Plate 3.4. A gutter gradually being taken over by solid waste at Gurugu in the Tamale metropolis Picture: 2816x2112

37 3.2 Primary Data Collection

Primary data was collected through field study, questionnaire survey and face- to-face interviews.

3.2.1 Field Study 3.2.1.1 Selected Areas (Communities)

A field investigation activity was carried out in the selected areas of study. In the process, the number of skips in each of the selected areas were counted, the capacity of skips used, the number of days a skip takes to get full and the frequency at which these skips were evacuated by the private and public sector solid waste collecting institutions within the Metropolis. The distance between skips and human habitats was measured and the areas were also observed for the presence of unauthorized solid waste dump sites.

The field observation involved scouting through the study area to assess the following: • Communal waste collection skips • Dump sites • Landfill sites

3.2.1.2 Landfill Sites

A study visit was also made to the land fill site at Gbalahi managed by TAMA to find out the following:

 The distance between the landfill site and the nearest community and from the Tamale metropolis.

 The treatment plants at the site

 The leachate collecting system

 Gas recovery

 Weigh bridge

 Internal access

38  Maintenance of the site

During this process, pictures were taken of heaps of solid wastes at dump sites, solid waste skips overflowing with solid waste, scattered solid waste in between houses.

This process gave a general overview of the current waste management situation in the Tamale

Metropolis and this guided the formulation of questionnaire survey and interview schedule.

Informal contacts were made with Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, WMD, Digital Cleaners and Zoom

Lion Ghana Ltd.

3.2.2 Questionnaire Survey

General information on public and private sector waste collection activities were gathered through questionnaire survey. Data were collected on variables including the following:

• Monitoring of solid waste collecting companies, • Place of disposal, • Mode and frequency of collection, • Distances covered to dispose of waste in communal containers, • The size of operational area, • Number of communal containers in operational area, • Problematic waste, • Funding and • Constraints

39 3.2.3 Face-to-face Interviews

Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data from the following key stakeholders as far as solid waste management is concerned in the study area.

• Waste Management Department (Landfill Manager) and

• Zoom lion Company Limited (Assistant Regional Operations Supervisor).

• Digital cleaners (Director)

3.3 Sampling Techniques

The following sampling techniques were employed to select the respondents and areas for the study.

These were: cluster, purposive and stratified. Firstly, the study area was zoned into three clusters namely: Central Sub-Metro, North Sub-Metro and South Sub-Metro.

Table 3.3 Sub-Metros and selected areas of study

Sub-metro Selected Areas Total Central Zogbeli, Moshi Zongo, Tuutigli, Bayanwire, St. Charles 5 North Changli, School of hygiene, Kalpohin, Tishigu, Gumani 8 Choggu, Gumbihini (VRA sub station), Gumbihini South Nyohini, Lamakara, Lamashegu, Kukuo, Jakalayili 5 Total 18

Secondly, purposive sampling was used to select eighteen (18) areas from the three sub-metros in which the private and public sector waste collection companies operates for the survey (Table 3.3).

The selected areas were further stratified into public and private sector operational areas, in the metropolis. Thirteen (13) skips were identified under the public sector operational areas whiles twenty eight (28) skips were identified under the operational area of the private sector. In total, forty (41) skips were considered for the study due to financial constraints and the vast nature of the Metropolis

(Table 3.4).

40 Table 3.4 Stratification of Selected Areas of Study and number of skips selected

No Public sector Private sector Selected Area Number Of Skips Selected Area Number of selected Skips selected 1 Nyohini 3 Zogbeli 3 2 Gumbihini 1 Mossi Zongo 3 3 Tishigu 1 Changli 3 4 Jakalayili 1 Gumbihini 5 5 Lamakara (Lamashegu) 1 Kalpohin 2 6 School of hygiene 1 Choggu 3 7 St. Charles 1 Aboabo 3 8 Tuutigli 1 Lamashegu 3

9 Gumani 3 Kukuo 3

Total 9 13 9 28

Due to financial constraints and the vast nature of the metropolis a sample size of eighteen (18) areas and 41 skips were chosen in the Metropolis for the study. However, areas such as Lamashegu and

Gumbihini had both the public and the private waste collection institutions operating there.

3.3.1 Purposive Sampling

Purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents to the questionnaire and the face-to- face interviews. As the name implies, in trying to adhere to the objectives of the study, respondents who can answer the research questions best are selected. In this case, these key stakeholders had the necessary information, adequate knowledge and experience on solid waste management in the study area. The type of data collected from each key stakeholder during the face-to-face session is presented below:

1. Waste Management Department (TMA) the Public Sector: • Allocation of Solid waste collection areas to concerned institutions.

41 • Exclusion of certain areas from solid waste collection activities.

• The relationship between the public and private solid waste collection institutions.

• Kind and number of waste collecting equipment used.

• Major challenges confronting the institution.

• Timing of waste collection within the metropolis.

2. Zoom lion Ghana Ltd. And Digital Cleaners (the Private Sector):

• Allocation of Solid waste collection areas to concerned institutions.

• Exclusion of certain areas from solid waste collection activities.

• The relationship between the public and private solid waste collection institutions.

• Kind and number of waste collecting equipment used.

• Major challenges confronting the institution

• Timing of waste collection within the metropolis.

Purposive sampling was used to select the areas in which the private and public sector solid waste collecting institutions operate. Random sampling was used to select nine communities each from the operational areas of the public and private institutions.

From each collection point, data was collected on daily basis for seven consecutives days at each collection point. The random sampling method was used to select eighteen (18) skips from the selected areas within the Tamale Metropolis for the assessment of the proximity of skips to house holds and the frequency of skip filling and the evacuation of skips from their locations in the operational areas of both the public and private sectors.

42 Table 3.5 Random Sampling Procedure

Selected Areas Number Of Skips Number Of Skips Selected Nyohini 3 1 Gumbihini 1 1 Tishigu 1 1 Jakalayili 1 1 School of hygiene 1 1 St. Charles 1 1 Tuutigli 1 1 Gumani 3 1 Lamakara 3 1 Zogbeli 3 1 Mossi Zongo 3 1 Changli 3 1 Gumbihini 5 1 Kalpohin 2 1 Choggu 3 1 Aboabo 3 1 Lamashegu 3 1 Kukuo 3 1 Total 41 18

3.4 Data Processing and Analysis

Administered questionnaires were examined to check completeness, accuracy and consistency of responses in order to detect and eliminate errors. The data were processed into statistical tables and charts for interpretation and discussion. Processed data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively using excel.

43 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 RESULTS

4.1 Solid Waste Collection Practices in the Tamale Metropolis Table 4.1 Solid Waste Collection Institutions and the Activities they engage in

S W Collection Institutions Activities Engaged In Frequency

TMA Collection of waste from Daily communal containers

ZOOM LION Collection of waste from Daily communal containers Collection of waste from Once/twice a week house to house Collection of waste from Daily communal bins Street sweeping Daily

DIGITAL CLEANERS Collection of waste from Twice a week house to house

The table above shows that there are three main institutions involved in solid waste collection activities within the Tamale metropolis. Two institutions (TAMA and Zoomlion) are into skip collection whiles Digital Cleaners and Zoomlion are into house to house waste collection. TAMA which is a public institution carries out only skip collection whiles the private institutions (Digital

Cleaners and Zoomlion) do the house to house collection.

Zoomlion engages in a lot of solid waste collection activities within the metropolis, some of which includes, collection of waste from communal bins and street sweeping.

44 Table 4.2 Frequency of Skips Filling and Evacuation in Selected Areas of Study

Residential Area/Section Number of days taken for frequency of evacuation skip to get full Private Solid Waste Collection Areas Zogbeli 2 3 Mossi 2 4 Changli 4 5 Gumbihini 4 6 Kalpohin 2 6 Choggu 3 7 Aboabu 2 6 Lamashegu 3 5 Kukuo 3 5

Public Sector (TMA) Solid Waste Collection Areas

Nyohini 3 4 Tishigu 4 7 Jakalayili 5 4 Lamakara 3 over 7days School of hygiene 6 over 7days St. Charles 4 6 Tuutigli 3 over 7days Gumani 4 5 Gumbihini 5 4

The minimum number of days taken for a skip to get full in the private sector operational area was 2 days where as that of the public sector was 3 days. The maximum days for skips to get full was 4 days and 6 days for the private and public sector operational areas, respectively.

Evacuation frequency within the private area was weekly with the minimum number of days a skip sits on a particular location being 3 with 7 days as its maximum. Areas under the supervision of the public sector saw skips sitting at particular locations for a minimum of 4 days and a maximum of over 7 days before skips were lifted to the landfill.

45 Table.4.3 Kinds of vehicles used by solid Waste Collection institutions in the Tamale Metropolis Institution skip/communal bin collection House-to-house collection

TAMA Motorized tricycles Tricycles Side loaders Roll-on roll-off

Zoomlion Motorized tricycles Slaptrucks Tricycles Motorised tricycles Trucks Compaction trucks

Digital Cleaners Motorised tricycles

TAMA has vehicles for the collection of solid waste from skips and communal bins (table 4.3).

Zoomlion Ghana limited which is a private company has different set of vehicles for the collection of solid waste from skips/communal containers and from house-to-house whiles the other private company has vehicles for house-to-house collection alone.

Table 4.4 Solid Waste Collection Companies and their Monthly Frequency at the Landfill Institution October November December January February March April Total

Zoomlion 382 328 360 487 344 460 368 2729

TAMA 21 18 5 8 15 5 20 92

Total 403 346 365 495 359 465 388 2821

The highest frequency of 487 was recorded in January and the lowest of 328 in November for Zoom lion whilst a frequency of 21 was recorded in October as the highest for TAMA and the lowest of 5 was recorded in December and March (table 4.4.)

46 4.2 Extent of Private Sector Participation in Solid Waste Collection in the Tamale Metropolis

33%

Public

Private

67%

Figure: 4.1 Extent of coverage of public and private solid waste collection institutions in the Tamale Metropolis

A greater portion, 67% of the Tamale Metropolis sanitation needs is handled by private solid waste collection institutions whilst the public sector waste collection institution takes care of 33%.

House to House Collection

Private sector

Skip Communal Collection bin collection

Street Sweeping

Figure 4.2. Shows the kinds of solid waste collection activities the private sector is engaged in.

The private sector solid waste collection institutions in the Tamale metropolis (Zoom lion Ghana

Limited and Digital Cleaners) carries out almost all forms of solid waste collection practices including, street sweeping, skip collection, house to house collection and communal bin collection.

4.3: Problems/challenges faced by private companies in solid waste collection in the Tamale

Metropolis

The private solid waste management companies in the Tamale metropolis equally face numerous challenges as compared to that of other metropolis in Ghana. The challenges outlined by private operators in the Tamale metropolis include; financial constrains, indiscriminate dumping of waste, incidental fires and inadequate equipment.

48 4.4. Funding Public and Private Waste Collection Institutions Table 4.5 Source of Funding for Public and Private Waste Collection institutions

Institution Source of funding

TAMA Internally Generated Funds

Zoomlion MMDA‘S Common Fund

Digital Cleaners Self financing

The solid waste collecting institutions (Zoom lion and TAMA) operating within the Tamale

Metropolis were virtually financed by the Metropolitan Assembly with the exception of Digital

Cleaners which is a private institution operating at a very low level which generates its own funds to manage its activities.

4.6 Solid Waste Influx

Table 4.6 The Quantity (tones) of Solid Waste Hauled to the Landfill Site Daily

Months TAMA Zoomlion Total

October 4.3 81.9 86.2 November 4.0 70.3 74.3 December 1.0 77.14 78.1 January 1.6 104.4 106.0 February 3.0 73.7 76.7 March 1.0 98.6 99.6 April 4.0 78.9 83.9

The maximum daily quantities (tones) of solid waste hauled to the land fill was realized in October

(4.3tonnes) and January (104.4tonnes) for the public and private sectors respectively whiles the minimum collection being in December (1.0) and March (1.0) for the public sector and November

(70.3) for the private sector.

49 The highest total daily quantity of waste hauled to the landfill by both institutions was realized in

January were approximately 106tones were hauled.

Table 4.7 Distribution of Skips in Selected Areas of Study Residential Estimated Number of Estimated Number required Area Population Skips available population Served by a skip

Private Solid Waste Collection Areas Zogbeli 13663 3 4554 17 Mossi Zongo 16679 3 5560 21 Changli 11016 3 3672 13 Gumbihini 13152 5 2630 14 Kalpohin 19148 2 9574 25 Choggu 15874 2 7937 21 Aboabu 9496 3 3165 11 Lamashegu 22510 3 7503 29 Kukuo 6557 3 2186 6 Total 128096 34 46781 151 Public Sector (TMA) Solid Waste Collection Areas

Nyohini 19172 3 6391 24 Tishigu 16077 1 16077 22 Jakalayili 4958 1 4958 6 Lamakara 1135 1 1135 1 School of hygiene 3255 1 3255 4 St. Charles 4334 1 4334 5 Tuutigli 8072 1 8072 11 Gumani 6510 1 6510 8 Total 63513 10 50732 81 Grand Total 191609 44 97513 232

There was a deficit in skip containers in all the selected areas, both public and private solid waste collection zones. Thirty four (34) skips containers were available to serve 128,096 persons in the area managed by private sector whilst a total number of 10 skip containers were available to serve 63,515 persons in the area managed by the public sector (Table 4.7).

Approximately, the skip to population ratio in these selected areas was 1: 4355.

50 Table 4.8 Estimated waste generated per capita (kg) for some selected areas in TAMA

Private Sector (Zoomlion) Public Sector (TAMA) Residential Estimated Estimated Residential Estimated Estimated Area/Section Population waste Area/Section Population waste generated generated per per capita capita (kg) (kg) Zogbeli 13663 0.65 Nyohini 19172 0.29 Mossi Zongo 16679 0.54 Tishigu 16077 0.09 Changli 11016 0.40 Jakalayili 4958 0.23 Gumbihini 13152 0.57 School of hygiene 3255 0.29 Kalpohin 19148 0.31 St. Charles 4334 0.32 Choggu 15874 0.25 Tuutigli 8072 0.23 Aboabo 9496 0.95 Gumani 6510 0.22 Lamashegu 22510 0.27 Lamakara 1135 1.23 Kukuo 6557 0.91 Total 4.9 2.30 Average 0.54 0.29

The estimated average solid waste generated per capita within selected communities in the operational zone of the private sector was 0.54kg whiles the average for selected areas under public sector operational zone is 0.29kg per capita.

Within the private sector zone, 56% of the residential areas have an estimated waste generated per capita exceeding the metropolitan average of 0.45kg per capita whiles 44% generate below the metropolitan average.

All the residential areas selected under the public sector operational area have the estimated waste generation rate to be 0.29kg per capita.

Figure 4.3 Distances of skips from the nearest household

The maximum distance between a skip and the nearest household was found in Zogbeli and School of

Hygiene which is about 100m whilst the minimum distance was 5m and located in the Changli community (Figure 4.3).

52 CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 DISCUSSION

5.1: Solid Waste Collection Practices in the Tamale Metropolis

Within the Tamale Metropolis, there are two main modes of solid waste collection; the house-to- house collection and the skip collection. This is similar to modes of solid waste collection in the

Kumasi Metropolis as they also operate only the house to house and the skip collection (KMA, 2006).

Most of the house-to-house collection system is operated in first class or high income, low density areas such as Low-cost residential areas, Russian Bungalows, Kalpohin and Vitting Estates where there are excellent social amenities like good roads, electricity and water. The houses are also well planned and the waste trucks have very little problem going between the houses. The house-to-house collection is done by the private companies only and they expect households within their catchment areas to place their solid waste in waste bins in front of their houses (kerbsides) for collection once or twice a week. Not only do the high and middle-income neighbourhoods pay money directly to the contractors for house-to-house collection but also there is accessible road network. The house-to-house waste collection in the Tamale Metropolis is similar to what pertains in Accra (Anomanyo, 2004).

Anomanyo (2004) reported that solid waste collection in the city of Accra is both on franchise and contract basis. On the franchise basis, a house-to-house collection is done in high income areas and the contractors charge the households some fees with weekly collection frequency.

On the other hand, the skip system is operated in the low income, high-density areas like Aboabo,

Tishigu, Mossi Zongo, Lamashegu, Gumbihini and Choggu. In these areas there is a lot of overcrowding, inadequate social amenities and chronic poverty. The houses are built anyhow with no attention given to planning. There are no roads for the waste trucks to negotiate in between the houses

53 and the few ones with roads are in a deplorable condition thus allowing only waste collectors on tricycles to get to such clients. Waste trucks that venture into such areas often get frequent break downs.

With the skip system the problems were more chronic since most (60%) of the containers belonging to

TAMA were left overflowing with refuse and often not collected for days, perhaps, an indication of lack of preparedness on the part of the Metropolitan Assembly towards solid waste management in the Metropolis. The private waste contractor (Zoomlion) on the other hand, had about 30% of their skips overflowing with refuse during the period of my study. This situation is not perculiar to the

Tamale Metropolis alone but also in Accra as indicated by Anomanyo (2004). In Accra, the skips usually get filled to the brim in the early hours of the morning and latecomers are turned away by the attendants. However, in the case of the Tamale Metropolis, there are no attendants, garbage is left there and it accumulates on the ground.

Information gathered as to why this was occurring mainly with the skip system was that TAMA had old and inadequate equipment which breaks down often. The head of the Solid Waste Management

Department of the Metropolitan Assembly indicated that, the private companies were more efficient operating the skip system since they had enough strong and modern equipment for solid waste collection and as such, skips were evacuated quite frequently as compared to what the Metropolitan

Assembly does.

In practice waste is not collected daily from skips as claimed by these companies. It is clear from table

4.2 that the skips are usually not evacuated for several days within the Metropolis and this does not conform with the guidelines of EGSSAA, (2009) which indicates that solid waste in the tropics should be collected and disposed off frequently, thus on a daily basis.

54 From table 4.2, it could be observed that the minimum number of days a skip takes to get full is 2 whiles the minimum number of days a skip sits on the site prior to evacuation is 4 and goes to suggest that the idea of daily evacuation of solid waste from the Tamale Metropolis as indicated by the respondents from both the private and public solid waste collection institutions is not what is actually practiced within the Metropolis. However, it was realized that all the skips under the jurisdiction of the private waste collection institution (Zoomlion Ghana Ltd.) were evacuated once weekly where as the skips under the supervision of the public sector (TAMA waste management department) had some of their skips halfway buried with solid waste sending a signal of abandonment for several weeks.

This act is also in contravention with the Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in

Africa (EGSSA 2009) which stipulates that solid waste in the tropics should be disposed off daily whether it is the wet or dry season.

Chandra and Linthoingambi (2009) also mentioned that in Myosore city, collection of waste from dust bins is planned in accordance with frequency of container becoming full. The present location of dust bins and the waste collection point have been classified into daily collection (A type), weekly twice collection (B type) and weekly once collection (C type).

Comparing the information on table 4.2 to the Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in

Africa (2009) and the findings of Chandra and Linthoingambi (2009), it could be said that the Tamale

Metropolitan Assembly solid waste collecting institutions have not got a well organized plan for solid waste evacuation.

55 Privatization is premised on the idea that people should have greater access to, and influence over, solid waste collection activities within the metropolis. In that way the TAMA can still be seen as playing a leading role whilst sticking to its objective of reducing the solid waste in the Tamale

Metropolis and preventing the outbreak of diseases. Comparing the service provided by the private waste contractors (Zoomlion Ghana Ltd.) with that of the TAMA, clear superiority is shown by the private waste management institution as they collected an estimated quantity of 83tones of solid waste out of a total of 810tones generated in the entire Metropolis whiles TAMA collect approximately

3tones. One can then say that the private waste contractors are doing a better job since they collect more solid waste and thus allow for more people to be included in the service. This is confirmed by

KMA, (2009) which indicated that private companies collected 501 tonnes/day whiles KMA collected

44 tonnes/day out of a total of 1200tones of solid waste generated in the Kumasi Metropolis

5.1.1: Solid Waste Storage in the Tamale Metropolis

Waste generated within the Metropolis is usually stored in polythene bags and either metallic or plastic containers of varying sizes and transported to skip containers from households by individuals. Only the house holds which have signed contracts with a private company for their waste to be collected stores their waste awaiting collection. A research conducted by Martin (2011), in the Accra metropolitan area also revealed that, solid waste was stored in polythene bags, card board boxes, and old buckets. These substandard containers are usually prevalent in both the low and middle-income areas and the standard plastic containers in the high-income neighborhoods. From the survey conducted, it was observed that solid waste collected was either sent directly to the land fill if collected by a compacter truck or to a communal collection point if collected by motorized tricycles or tricycles for onward hauling to the landfill.

56 It was also realized that, skip containers had no covers to protect solid waste during rainfall and to prevent solid waste that had light weight from being blown away by strong winds. This implies that during the dry season which is usually characterized by windy conditions in the north, waste like polythene bags and papers could be sent back to the environment from storage containers resulting in unhygienic and dirty conditions. During a heavy down pour these skip containers without covers could easily be flooded spilling the waste on the ground which could pose a public health threat to the community members.

5.1.2: Solid Waste Transportation in the Tamale Metropolis

Solid waste picked up at central points, communal bins or from house-to-house collection are usually transported through the Metropolis uncovered on their way to the final disposal site which is the land fill situated 15kilometers away from the Metropolis.

This usually results in the spillage of waste along its journey and this contravenes the standards set by

US EPA, (2011) which states that, vehicles or containers used for the collection and transportation of solid waste should be loaded and moved in such a manner that the contents do not fall, spill or leak and covers provided to prevent littering and spillage.

The US EPA (2011) also indicated that, if spillage does occur, the operator shall immediately return the spilled materials to the vehicle and shall properly clean the spill area. In the event of a spill of a hazardous substance the department shall be notified. It was realized that solid waste usually spill mostly on the road leading to Gbalahi from the city centre without it being cleaned up by those responsible and this further compounds the waste problems of the communities along that way.

57 The various kinds of vehicles used by solid waste collection companies in the Tamale Metropolis are presented in Table.4.3. The TAMA skips are either carried by a roll-on-roll-off truck or a tractor whiles that of the private company is carried by skip trucks.

5.1.3: Solid Waste Disposal in the Tamale Metropolis

Solid waste in the Tamale Metropolis is disposed off at the landfill which is situated about 15 Km away from the Metropolis by TAMA waste management department and other identified and unidentified private waste collection companies. Information gathered indicates that zoom lion is the only identified private waste collection company hauling solid waste to the landfill site. However some other private companies or individuals also dump at the landfill.

It was realized that, the institution with the highest monthly frequency at the land fill was Zoomlion

Ghana Ltd. whiles TAMA recorded the lowest. Zoomlion Ghana Ltd. staff often visit the landfill site daily whiles TAMA does not always appear daily at the landfill. This could be due to the fact that

Zoomlion as a private company has more and stronger vehicles for the collection of solid waste whilst the TAMA only relies on one roll-on-roll-off truck which is old and weak for the collection of solid waste in the Metropolis.

During the period of transporting the skip from the community to the land fill for disposal, the inhabitants the skip is supposed to serve always have to consider an alternative place to dump their solid waste until the skip container is replaced after several hours or days. This goes to confirm the statement that, an estimated quantity of about 10% of solid waste generated is properly disposed off throughout the country (Mensah and Larbi, 2005).

58 However, from a survey of the metropolis it was realized that not all the solid waste generated from households and other establishments ends up in the landfill. Some of the communities within the

Metropolis do not have any form of secondary waste collection system operating there, thereby leaving them to battle with the waste problem in their own way and this is inline with the observation made by Danso, (2011) which states that, the collection of waste is limited to high and some middle income areas while the poor are left to contend with the problem on their own. This leads to indiscriminate disposal of waste in surface drains, canals and streams, creating insanitary and unsightly environments in many parts of the cities in Ghana. This also confirms the findings of Poupiel

(2010) who stated that, about 59.6% of low and high class residential areas dump waste in skips and dustbins whiles 40.5% resorted to dumping waste in either the roadside, unauthorized dumpsites, open spaces, nearby gutter or backyard within the Tamale metropolis (figure 3.5).

Cointreau-Levine, (1995) showed sthat Municipal solid waste management is an essential public service which benefits all urban residents. It is therefore not feasible to exclude from service those who do not pay because public cleanliness and the safe disposal of waste are essential to public health and environmental protection hence local or metropolitan governments are typically responsible. This means that, solid waste management should be extended to all urban residents irrespective of their income levels within the metropolis.

59 5.1.4 The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly Landfill

The final disposal site of solid waste in the Metropolis is the landfill site at Gbalahi, about 15 km away from the city centre. A visit to the site showed that, it is in a bad shape. Ideally, a sanitary landfill should have the following functional elements; treatment plant, leachate collection system, gas recovery and location should be far away from human settlement and existing water body, weighbridge and internal access.

This is not the case with the landfill at Gbalahi. Though these facilities mentioned above are present they were not functional and for this reason the landfill at Gbalahi could be likened to that described by Zerbock, (2003) as open dumps. He indicated that open dumps are characterized by the lack of engineering measures, no leachate management, no consideration of landfill gas management, and few if any, operational measures such as registration of users, control of the number of tipping fronts or compaction of waste

Additionally, the landfill has no internal access. Almost all the cells at the site were filled to capacity and engulfed with weeds. Wastes dumped in the cells were not leveled and compacted as required of a sanitary landfill. This left a ―mountain‖ of waste at the site. Worst of it all, burning of waste occurred at the site. Therefore, the description of the landfill site in Tamale Metropolis was similar to the one described by Anamanyo (2004) in Accra.

Whiles landfill improves the aesthetic and environmental quality of disposal sites, other environmental problems such as groundwater contamination can occur at an improperly operated site (Gershman, et al., 1986). Landfills are generally operated below the standards of sanitary practice.

Mensah and Larbi (2005) reported that, Municipal budgetary allocations for operation and maintenance of landfills are always inadequate and this usually result in substandard and unsafe facilities which pose public health risks and aesthetic burdens to the citizens they are meant to serve.

60 According to the WMD waste separation which is one of the initial steps to reduce the volume and/or toxicity of waste was not carried out before final disposal. However, the management of ZoomLion, mentioned that they do carry out waste separation periodically to determine the composition of the waste. In addition, other components of waste such as metals may not decompose at all. In this case if waste is not segregated before dumping in landfill, the intention of decomposition of waste in the landfill for reclamation of land for use will fail since about 57.5 per cent of the waste in the Metropolis is plastic (Puopiel, 2010). Similarly through waste disaggregating, reusable products and packaging such as returnable bottles will be diverted from the landfill. It was also noticed that some of the skips were abandoned at the landfill site after emptying by the public sector waste collection institution whiles their counterparts, the private institution (Zoomlion) returns all their skips to where they were picked.

5.1.5 Treatment of Solid Waste before Landfilling

An interview with the public sector solid waste management department of TAMA revealed that, they only treat hazardous waste by disinfecting and burning with petrol or spirit. The private solid waste collection company (ZoomLion) only carries out periodic spraying of waste in order to rid off flies at the landfill.

The respondents from the three solid waste collecting companies see plastic waste as the most problematic waste in the Metropolis. According to the TAMA waste management department, the plastic waste menace in the metropolis is managed by spreading and compacting them with latrite on the landfill whiles Digital Cleaners, a private waste collecting company manages it by covering it with sand. This may not be the case since waste segregation is not usually carried out in the metropolis by both the public and private sector institutions. But the fact has been established by all the solid waste

61 management institutions that, there is a serious problem with the management of plastic waste in the metropolis.

5.1.6 Monitoring of Solid Waste Collection Institutions and Facilities

Information gathered from both public and private waste collection companies indicates that each of the establishments has a personnel in-charge of monitoring solid waste collection within their operational areas in the metropolis.

With the TAMA waste management department, daily monitoring of solid waste is done at the final waste disposal facility by the land fill manager who is in-charge of operations in the landfill.

According to him the only parameter monitored is leachate from the decomposing waste on the landfill. He also added that hazardous waste usually brought from health establishment are disinfected and burnt with petrol and spirit at the landfill.

The private SW collection companies equally carry out monitoring activities as far as solid waste collection is concern. The biggest private waste collection company in the Metropolis, ZoomLion, has a landfill supervisor who visits the landfill on a daily basis to monitor leachate, odour and the unsightly nature of the landfill. The other private company (Digital Cleaners) indicated that they carry out monitoring monthly on parameters which were not indicated.

The Environmental Protection Agency plays a major role as far as solid waste management is concerned. The solid waste collecting companies admitted that the EPA plays an advisory role by giving the companies concerned adequate information and direction towards ensuring efficient solid waste management in the metropolis. It was also mentioned that, EPA pays unannounced visits to waste disposal sites and facilities during monitoring.

62 5.2: Extent of Private Sector Participation in Solid Waste Collection in the Metropolis

Privatization was embrassed because of the inability of the Metropolitan Assembly to manage waste in the city. Under this initiative, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA) then decided to involve local private waste contractors and as such the city was divided into 3 zones, two thirds of the work was contracted to private waste companies, whiles a third was managed by the public sector TAMA

(figure 1.).

The allocation of a greater portion of the metropolis (67%) to private contractors while the public sector maintains a relatively smaller portion (33%). was in line with the environmental sanitation policy of Ghana MLGRD, (1999) which suggests that, the bulk of environmental sanitation services shall be provided by the private sector, including NGOs and community based organizations under the supervision of the Public Sector, especially the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. The public sector shall maintain adequate capacity to provide not less than 20% of the sanitation services and reserve the right to take measures to intervene and provide the services in the event of failure of the private sector to deliver the services due to industrial actions in their establishments or other reasons. Information obtained from the management of ZoomLion rather indicates that, their company mostly salvages TAMA by collecting solid waste in their operational area when there is a crisis due to equipment failure which is a common characteristic of TAMA‘s waste collecting department. This rather contravenes the nation‘s environmental sanitation policy.

From the research carried out on the assessment of the public and private waste management practices in the Tamale Metropolis, it was realize that the participation of private companies in the field of solid waste collection was very minimal as compared to that of its sister city Accra. Whilst AMA can boast

63 of about fifteen private solid waste collection contractors as acknowledged by Anomanyo, (2004),

TAMA can boast of only two contractors.

The private sector participation in solid waste collection in the Tamale metropolis is one of the greatest things that has happened to the solid waste management department in the metropolis. It was realized from this study that, the operations of the private companies transcends all facets of solid waste collection and disposal within the Metropolis (figure 4.2.).

5.3. Problems Associated With Public Solid Waste Collection System in the Tamale Metropolis The TAMA waste management department faces a lot of challenges in its attempt to ensure an efficient solid waste collection practices within the metropolis. Some of the challenges encountered by the Waste Management Department includes; inadequate number of waste collection vehicles, frequent breakdown of roll-on roll-off trucks, financial constrains, obsolete equipment, inadequate staff and poor commitment of community members towards ensuring good sanitation.

5.3.1 Inadequate Eqiupment

Table 5.1 Equipment holding of TAMAS Type of equipment Number

Roll-on-roll-off 1

Tractor 2

Pay loader 1

Bull dozer 1

Side loader 1

Tipper truck 1

Water browser 1

64 From table 5.1 it could be realized that the public sector WMD of TAMA can only boost of only three

SW collecting vehicles out of which one (the side loader) is outmoded and no longer in use.

A larger number of the skips belonging to the public sector WMD are designed to be lifted by the roll- on roll-off truck which perpetually breaks down leaving skips filled and overflowing for several weeks. Information gathered revealed that some of the skips are sometimes totally buried in solid waste and others in the peri-urban areas are usually abandoned for such a long period that weeds grow on the skips.

Inadequate staff was another problem faced by the public sector solid waste management department.

They indicated that most of their field workers have been laid off and for that reason they are unable to cope with the demands of the solid waste collection pressures. For instance the land fill manager mentioned that the staff at the landfill was only 3. Untimely release of funds for solid waste collection was also one of the major problems outlined.

5.4: Problems/challenges faced by private solid waste collecting companies in the Tamale metropolis

The private solid waste management companies in the Tamale Metropolis equally face numerous challenges as compared to that of other Metropolis in Ghana. The challenges outlined by private operators in the Tamale Metropolis aside the major problem of financial constrains include;

Indiscriminate dumping of solid waste

Dumping of solid waste on the floor instead of depositing it into skip containers is one of the challenges hindering the operation of SW collection institutions in the metropolis. The indiscriminate dumping of Solid waste in the Tamale Metropolis is not an isolated case, as WebGovernment (2011), reported, solid waste disposal in Ghana is of great concern and problems include indiscriminate

65 dumping, lack of appropriate disposal sites, troubles with proper solid waste disposal due to deterioration of road ways and escalating traffic woes.

This negative attitudinal response to SWM retards the progress of these institutions in their effort to rid off the metropolis of solid waste. Dumping of solid waste on the floor instead of the skip usually results in an increase in the time taken to dispose of a skip since more time would be spent filling the skip with the waste deposited on the floor. A similar situation has also been reported by KEEA (2006), which indicated that, individuals, mostly children, carry the waste to the disposal points, and this usually accounts for the dumping of solid waste on the ground instead of into the skip because, the height of the skips is usually above the reach of these children therefore the ground becomes a more convenient place for them to dump. Martin (2011) also stated that, the use of unapproved storage facilities and children in waste disposal, especially in the low-income areas presents its own problems.

This is because, in most cases, children find it difficult to properly access the containers due to their height. It thus become more convenient for them to throw waste on the ground.

Additional labor force may also be required in this regard and this would result in higher financial investments and a reduction in the number of skips lifted in a day.

Accidental fires

The incidence of accidental fires at the various skips was also very common and this is as a result of pouring hot ashes into the skips and the smoke produced by the burning solid waste comes with its own health hazards as captured in the Mongolian Environmental Monitor (2004) which showed that, smoke from these fires is contaminated with toxic fumess. It was also reported by KEEA, (2006) that,

Residents set fires to the waste in their environment, to create space for further dumping. In doing so they cause atmospheric pollution and create health risks for themselves and their fellow towns‘ people.

66 EGSSAA (2009) also added that, in urban areas, burning is not advisable, as the fly ash, toxic gases and acidic gases pose a much greater health threat in more densely populated urban environments than in rural areas.

Funding

The irregularity of financial inflow was one of the key challenges which run through the two private solid waste collecting companies as a basic problem hindering their operations within the metropolis.

Digital cleaners which is one of the solid waste collection companies is mainly concerned with house to house waste collection mentioned that payments usually made by customers are usually late and this could probably explain why some customers receive poor services from them since their operations are self financing. These problems confirms the findings of Ogawa, (2005) who said, ―users' ability to pay for the services is very limited in poorer developing countries‖.

Zoom lion which is also a private solid waste collection company operating within the metropolis is being funded by the Metropolitan Assembly from the Common Fund but the problem of irregular release of funds for their operations surfaced during the face to face session. It was also mentioned that sometimes payment is usually unduly delayed yet work must go on.

Persons residing in areas where the skip containers are usually kept for solid waste deposition do not often wish to pay any fee for waste dumping or collection. This is because they expect government to pay for such services and should continue to do that, thus defeating the main aim of privatization.

Privatization requires that citizens pay for services rendered. However, the present skip system does not attract user fees therefore the whole cost is borne by the TAMA. The landfill manager of the

Metropolis gave a historical explanation for this non-payment of skip use; privatization has not brought about any change. He mentioned that, historically the state was seen as the provider of social services and solid waste collection was seen as one of these social services which is expected to be

67 provided free of charge by the public sector. Therefore, there is the perception that solid waste management is purely the TAMA‘s task.

It is usually very difficult to change people‘s attitudes when they are used to free government provision of solid waste containers and collection from their surroundings. Therefore asking them to pay for dumping may encourage households either to engage in free rider practices or to opt out of the service and later throw their solid waste into roads, gutters, beaches, which in turn becomes a public nuisance. In most of the low income high density areas there is low standard of living and poverty, charging them for waste disposal has been counter productive and this is peculiar to the Tamale

Metropolis.

Inadequate Eqiupment

The only active private waste collecting company (Zoomlion) equally faces the problem of inadequate

SW collecting equipment. During an interview session with the operations manager it was revealed that, the company has three (3) skip trucks and one (1) compaction truck.

One skip truck is allocated to each of the three sub-metros and tasked with the lifting of six (6) skips a day (Table 5.2).

Table 5.2 Sub-metros and the number of skips and skip trucks available

Sub-metro Number of skips Number of skip Number required Present trucks available North 26 1 4

South 19 1 3

Central 20 1 4 Total 65 3 11

68 According to the information gathered, it could be deduced from table 5.2 that, every individual skip in the north and central sub-metros is lifted after every four days whiles the skips in the south sub- metro is lifted after every three days. The number of skip trucks available compared to the number of skips in each sub-metro are woefully inadequate since each skip is supposed to be lifted daily.

5.5 Source of Funding for Public and Private Waste Collection Companies

Waste management has huge financial implications. The Assembly depends heavily on the District

Hitherto, the Assembly uses its own revenue collectors, but in the period she employed development partners who assisted in revenue collection especially in the area of property rate.

The Waste Management Department of TAMA is financed through the internally generated funds

(sanitation fund) instituted by the metropolitan assembly to take care of the sanitation needs of the metropolis. Therefore, if the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) of the Assembly is increasing, it is a potential source of sustainable funding for waste management. This is because the Assembly is the major financier of managing solid waste in the area.

One of the private companies (Zoom lion) is said to have a contractual agreement with the government of Ghana and for that reason should be paid from the MMDA‘s common fund. This contractual agreement is in conformity with the accession made by Cointreau-Levine and Coad (2000) that, solid waste management institutions under contractual agreements are paid by the government. Whiles the other private company (Digital Cleaners) generates its own funds to manage its activities.

69 5.6 Solid Waste Influx

From table 4.7 it could be deduced that the quantity of waste collected and transported from the

Metropolis to the land fill by the private solid waste collection institutions monthly, far exceeds the monthly quantum disposed off by the public institution (TAMA) Waste Management Department

(Table 4.7). From table 4.7, an estimated average of 86 tonnes of solid waste is disposed off in the landfill daily during the period of the research. This goes to suggest that the findings made by Poupiel

(2010), revealing that, 40.5% of the inhabitants of the Tamale metropolis resort to dumping of waste in either the roadside, dump, open spaces, nearby gutter or backyard could be a greater contributory factor to the low level of waste disposed off at the landfill site.

In one of the communities selected for this study (Choggu) it was realized that about nine trips of solid waste were offloaded on a school compound. This was supposed to be used to check erosion on the school compound. However the stench emanating from the waste coupled with the flies the waste brought to the school compound posed a lot of health threat to the pupils and staff of the school This further indicates that solid waste collectors within the metropolis find alternative ways of disposing of solid waste aside dumping at the landfill.

From table 4.7, the estimated skip to population ratio in the public and private sector operational areas was 1:4355 as compared to the acceptable standard of 1:700 (as indicated by ZoomLion). This means that the average population a skip served was 8 times greater than the standard maximum population a skip was supposed to have served. This could probably be the reason why the skips usually over flow.

The inhabitants instead, resort to dumping waste at roadside, dump sites, open spaces, nearby gutter

(Plate 3.3 and 3.4), backyard or burning as means of dealing with their domestic waste in the

Metropolis due to insufficient number of skips in these areas. This scenario is not different from waste

70 disposal in the low income areas in AMA. In terms of availability of skips in the low class residential areas, Gumbihini had the highest number of skips in the Metropolis because both private and public waste collecting institutions operate there and the land mass of the community is vast. To avoid indiscriminate dumping, a lot of skips had to be provided. The provision of skips in communities should be dependent on the estimated population of the community and probably the land mass of the community. It is ideal that highly populated communities gets more skip than less dense populated areas since solid waste generation is highly dependent on population growth.

After a careful observation of the number of days a skip takes to get full and the number of skips available in the communities under study (Table 4.2), it could be said that the higher the number of skips in a particular area, the longer the skip takes to get full and the greater the nuisance and public health effect on the inhabitants since only full skips are evacuated to the landfill for disposal by both the private and public sector waste collecting departments in the Tamale metropolis.

From figure 4.3 the longest distance of a skip to the nearest household was 100m and this was recorded in Gumbihini near the VRA sub-station and the closest household to a skip was 10m recorded in Nyohini. The closer these skips are to households, the greater the health threat to the residents as they have to battle with flies, rodents and the gradual drifting and accumulation of some solid waste such as polythene bags, papers and rags within their compounds or yards with any wind that blows.

Apart from the bad odour emanating from the decomposing solid waste in and around the skip, animals such as dogs and cats might bring back some of the discarded solid waste to house holds because of their proximity to the various households and this is in line with observations made by

MEM, (2004) that, wild dogs and other animals also carry waste from open dumps to nearby

71 residential areas. Inhabitants of households close to skips are usually prone to water and food contamination which might pose serious health threats to the populates of the community at large.

The location of skips 100meters away from residences as observed in some of the communities also indicates that there would be an increase in the time spent disposing of waste and may also result in the reluctance of people patronizing the skip container which is likely to bring about inappropriate disposal practices such as disposing of solid waste between houses and other unacceptable locations.

However, according to KEEA, (2006) the required maximum distance of a skip to households is

100m.

Solid waste generated per capita in the selected areas under private sector supervision exceeds that of the area supervised by the public sector (TAMA Solid Waste Management Department) and this could be attributed to the fact that, the private waste management institution (Zoomlion) has introduced more skips with a maximum of three and a minimum of two skips placed at vantage points within the communities in which they operate. This would undoubtedly lead to the collection of more solid waste generated within their catchment areas than the public sector that has a maximum of three skips in one community and a single skip each in the rest of the communities in their operational area which would in no doubt lead to the collection of smaller quantities of solid waste from their operational area. The average quantity of waste contributed per capita to the skips in the operational area of the public sector which is 0.24kg is less than the estimated generation rate of 0.45kg per capita in the Tamale

Metropolis. This is an indication that about 45% of the solid waste generated in these areas ends up elsewhere but not in the skip.

The average quantity of waste contributed per capita to the skips in the operational area of the private sector which is 0.54kg is above the estimated generation rate in the Metropolis and this could also be a

72 clear signal of greater quantities of solid waste being generated and collected in these areas. The inability of both the public and private sectors to appropriately collect and dispose off regularly could be attributed to the assertion made by Ogawa (2005), which indicates that in a developing country, the challenges facing most solid waste management systems are technical, financial, institutional and social constraints which play a crucial part in the sustainability of solid waste in developing countries.

It could be deduced from table 4.9 that the estimated average waste generated per capita is 0.41kg for the selected areas of study and comparing this figure to the average daily waste generation per capita of 0.45 kg, in Ghana as indicated by Danso, (2011), one can say that waste generated per capita in the

Tamale metropolis is close to that of the national generation rate. Perhaps it is below the national average because of the insufficiency in the availability of solid waste collection equipment such as skips, skip trucks in addition to the constrains outlined by Ogawa (2005).

73 CHAPTER SIX

6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Conclusions

5.1.1: Solid Waste Collection Practices in the Tamale Metropolis

Within the Tamale Metropolis, it was realised that, two main systems of solid waste collection were practiced; the house-to-house collection which is done on a weekly basis and the skip system which is collected weekly.

Most of the house-to-house system is operated in first class or high income, low density areas where there are excellent social amenities like good roads, electricity and water. The house to house collection is done by two private companies whiles the skip system is operated by both the public and private solid waste collection institutions in the Tamale Metropolis.

Solid waste collection within the metropolis could be described as irregular as observed during the period of the study by both the private and public solid waste collecting institutions. Skips are evacuated weekly or once within two weeks in the Metropolis.

The irregularity in the evacuation of solid waste in skips usually led to the spillage of solid waste creating a generally unhygienic environment which may pose health risks to the inhabitants of such areas.

Waste generated within the metropolis is usually stored in either metallic or plastic containers of varying sizes. At the various transfer stations, solid waste is usually stored in skips which are usually left uncovered.

74 Solid waste is usually transported through the Metropolis uncovered to the land fill site situated

15kilometers away from the metropolis. The land fill is the final disposal site for all the solid waste picked up by the solid waste collecting companies within the metropolis.

The sanitary landfill constructed at Gbalahi in Tamale may suffer the fate of reverting to a dump if measures are not put in place for revenue generation. The management of the land fill is very poor and not operated according to the recommended guidelines. Revenue is not accrued from tipping fees to fund the operation of the landfill. The compacting machine is not operational for this reason solid waste is just dumped at the landfill without the daily cover for several months.

The waste management system so far in Tamale has not properly integrated other solutions as collection, recycling and re-use, reprocessing and treatment before final disposal.

Findings revealed that, TAMA waste management department faces challenges such as; inadequate number of waste collection vehicles, frequent breakdown of roll-on roll-off trucks, financial constrain, obsolete equipment, inadequate staff, negative attitudes from the public and poor commitment of community members towards ensuring good sanitation. Zoom lion Ghana also faces major problems such as inadequate number of skip trucks and irregular release of funds by TAMA.

In terms of coverage, the operations of both the public and private sectors do not cover the entire metropolis. A greater portion of the metropolis is allocated to private solid waste collection institutions while the public sector maintains a relatively smaller portion. From the study it was realized that the

75 private sector covers the largest part of the metropolis and their activities are more extensive compared to that of the public sector.

The waste management department of TAMA is financed through internally generated funds

(sanitation fund). One of the private companies (Zoom lion), gets its funds from the Assembly‘s common fund whiles the other private company (Digital Cleaners) generates its own funds to manage its activities.

5.1.7 Solid Waste Influx

The minimum number of days for a skip to get full is 2 whiles the minimum number of days a skip sits on site prior to evacuation is 4. Skips under the jurisdiction of the private waste collection institutions

(Zoomlion) were evacuated once every week where as the skips under the supervision of the public sector had some of their skips on site for over a week.

The quantity of waste collected and transported from the metropolis to the land fill by the private solid waste collection institutions far exceeds the monthly quantum of waste disposed off by the public institution (TAMA) waste management department. An average of 86 tones of solid waste was disposed off in the landfill daily during the period of the research. It was realized that some residents within the metropolis do negotiate with the drivers of the skip trucks to offload solid waste at places of their choice. This could be a possible reason for the little quantity of waste disposed off in the landfill.

76 5.2 Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following measures are recommended for the efficient and effective management of solid waste by both the private and public sector in the Tamale Metrpolis.

Provision of adequate Skips

There should be a strong collaboration between the public and private sector solid waste collection institutions within the metropolis in the area of provision of adequate dustbins and skips for residents in the Metropolis for waste storage. An approximate number of three hundred (300) skips should be supplied to these areas in other to reduce the population to skip ratio of 1: 5736 to a smaller ratio of about 500 people to a skip and at most 700 people to a skip in other to avoid dumping of waste in open spaces, gutters, and roadside. Skips should be placed at least within 50m radius in other to reduce the time spent to dispose off their domestic waste at the skip site and also to reduce any possibility of contamination coming from the skip site into the nearest households.

Regular Collection of Waste

Solid waste should be collected daily or every two days, particularly in highly populated areas like

Moshi Zongo, Zogbeli and Aboabo to avoid heaping of waste and over flowing of skips with solid waste. The collection of solid waste should be well scheduled such that the skips are collected before it gets full or immediately it gets full. There should be regular monitoring of waste collection activities by the Metropolitan Assembly. This will keep the place constantly clean and prevent any possible outbreak of communicable diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Solid waste collection could be enhanced if 11 skip loaders and 4 compaction trucks are added to the stock of Zoom Lion Ghana.

Therefore, four were required to ensure regular collection of solid waste from house to house in the

Metropolis.

77 Use of Integrated Solid Waste Management Model

The Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) should be adopted to ensure effective solid waste management in the area. Residents should be encouraged by TAMA Waste Management Department and Zoom Lion Ghana Ltd. who are the principal solid waste collection institutions within the metropolis to separate the waste generated into their various components before final disposal. Waste can be disaggregated into plastic, metals, wood, cans, bottles and food waste. In this case rubber cans, bottles, metals can be reused; plastics like polythene bags and empty water sachets can also be recycled. The rest like food waste can be composted for manure, incinerate those that are combustible and landfill those that cannot be subjected to any of the above mentioned methods.

More attention should also be given to areas where the public sector operates since the solid waste collected from their operational area is very small and irregular.

Proper Management of Landfill The landfill site should be properly managed to avoid heaping of waste and burning. The weighbridge, gas recovery system and internal access should be revived for the landfill to work effectively. Also, waste dumped in the landfill should be spread, compacted and covered daily with soil.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is the regulatory authority on sanitation should ensure routine monitoring of management of the landfill site.

Adequate Resourcing of Waste Management Institutions

The waste management institutions should be adequately resourced by the Metropolitan Assembly to ensure efficient and effective waste management in the area. The Metropolitan Assembly should liaise with other corporate bodies like the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as well as the sister city in the United States (US) to pull financial resources to support the institutions in charge of managing waste in the metropolis. The ‗pay as you throw principle‘ should be introduced through an intensive public education and sensitization programs. The Metropolitan Assembly should make funds

78 available early enough to enable both public and private solid waste collecting institutions carry out their core functions effectively.

Challenges of public and private Waste collection Institutions

The challenges faced by both the public and private waste collection institutions could be minimized through intensive public education programs on solid waste management and enforcement of legal regulations on solid waste management, timely release of funds by central government, introduction of appropriate taxes to make people contribute to solid waste management and to add funds to the solid waste management sector in the Metropolis.

Coverage of public and private Waste collection Institutions

Solid waste collection should as much as possible be extended to cover all parts of the Tamale

Metropolitan area since no body should be denied the benefits of good sanitation practices and for that matter be assisted to dispose of his or her domestic waste appropriately. Efforts should be made to encourage private sector participation and investment in the field of solid waste management within the metropolis.

79 REFERENCES

Abankwa V., Grimard A., Somer K. and Kuria F. (2009). United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getElectronicVersion.aspx?nr=2929& Accessed; 23th March, 2011.

Addai E. (2005). Urban work in tamale.achievenments, challenges and lessons. A water Aid Ghana briefing paper 2005 (Number 2) http://www.wateraid.org/documents/plugin-documents/newenergy-urban-work-lessons.pdf. Accessed: 14th January, 2012.

Anomanyo E .D (2004). Integration of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Accra (Ghana) Bioreactor Treatment Technology as an Integral Part of the Management Process. Presented to Lund University, Sweden.

Arlosoroff, Saul 1982. ―WB/UNDP Integrated resource recovery project: Recycling of Wastes in developing countries. In: Appropriate Waste Management for Developing Countries, edited by Kriton Curi. New York: Plenum Press, 1985

Baabereyir A. (2009). Urban Environmental Problems in Ghana: A Case Study of Social and Environmental Injustice in Solid Waste Management in Accra and Secondi-Takoradi. http://etheses.nottingham.ac.uk/847/1/Full_thesis_pdf_copy.pdf Accessed; 10th January, 2012.

Babanawo R. (2006). Constrains to Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Ghana. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgibin/dokserv?idn=984500952&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pdf&filename=9 84500952.pdf Accessed; 23th February, 2011.

Boadi K. O. And Kuitunem, M. (2004). Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Accra Metropolitan Area. The Environmentalist. 23,(3): 211-2118

Boadi K. O. And Kuitunem, M. (2005). Environmental and Health Impacts of Household Solid Waste Handling and Disposal Practices in Third World Cities: The Case of the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. Environ Health. 68(4): 32-6

Blight, G.E. and Mbande, C.M. (1996). Some problems of waste management in Developing Countries. Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management 23(1): 19-27.

Chandra Y. I and Linthoingambi N. (2009). Studies on Municipal Solid Waste Management in Myosore City. A case study. http://www.sciencepub.net. Accessed; 23th March, 2011.

80 Cointreau, S. 1982. Environmental Management of Urban Solid Wastes in Developing Countries: A Project Guide. Washington, DC: Urban Development Department, World Bank.

Cointreau-Levine, S. 1994. Private Sector Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Services in Developing Countries. Volume 1. The Formal Sector. http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/1994/04/01/000009265_ 3970128111924/Rendered/PD Accessed; 20th February, 2011.

Cointreau-levine S. and Coad A. (2000).Guidance Pack Private Sector Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management. Executive Overview. http://rru.worldbank.org/Documents/Tookits/waste-fulltoolkit.pdf Accessed: 10th January, 2012

Danso K. B. Manu, (2011). The Nature of Solid Waste Management in Ghana: Towards Data Collection for Good Management Practices. http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&q=The+Nature+of+Solid+Waste+Management+ in+Ghana:+Towards+Data+ Accessed on May, 2011.

Downmore M., Shepherd M., Andrew M., Barbara N. and Daniel J. (2011) Municipality Solid waste (MSW) Management Challenges of Chinhoyi Town in Zimbabwe: Opportunities of Waste Reduction and Recycling.

EGSSAA, (2009).Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in Africa http://www.encapafrica.org/EGSSAA/solidwaste.pdf Accessed; March, 2011.

EPA, (2002) Ghana State of the Environment Report EPA, MES, MLGRD. Ghana landfill guidelines: Best Practice Environmental Guidelines.

GEPA, (2002) Ghana landfill guidelines. Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana. Ministry of Environment Science and Ministry Of Local Government and Rural Development

Gershman, Brickner and Bratton Inc. (1986), Small-scale municipal solid waste energy recovery systems.

Ghana Statistical Service (2010). Estimated Population of the Tamale Metropolis.

Gyebi E. (2010). The chronicle Ghana: Tamale Assembly makes breakthrough in waste management. 19th March 2010 Edition of the Chronicle.

Kisner C. (2008). Green roofs for urban food security and environmental sustainability. Urban agriculture case study: Harare, Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.climate.org/topics/international-action/urban-agriculture/harare.html, Accessed: 9 July, 2010.

81 Ketibuah E., Asase M., Yusif S., Mensah M. Y. 2, Fischer K. (2005). Comparative Analysis Of Household Waste In The Cities Of Stuttgart And Kumasi –Options For Waste Recycling And Treatment in Kumasi. http://www.codata.org/04conf/papers/Ketibuah-paper.pdf Accessed: 3rd June, 2011.

Krieth, F. (1994). Handbook on Solid Waste Management. McGraw hill, USA.

th KMA (2006). www. Ghanadistricts.com/districts/1on 1/kma/?arrow. Accessed on 26 February, 2010.

Kwarteng S. O and Van Dijk M.P (2008). Access to sanitation and safe water: global partnership and local actions performance of private companies involved in urban solid waste management: evidence from three cities in Ghana. 33rd WEDC International conference Accra., Ghana 2008. crgp.stanford.edu/.../industry_33rd_wedc_international_conference. Accessed: 9th July, 2010.

KEEA, (2006). Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem About Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Muncipal Environmental Situation. http://ww.ghanadistricts.com/districts1on1/keea/?arrow=atd&=57&sa=2826 Assessed: 10th January, 2012

Martin O. A. (2011). Governance Crisis or Attitudinal Challenges? Generation, Collection, Storage and Transportation of Solid Waste in Ghana. Integrated Waste Management. InTech 1, (978- 953-307-469-6)

Mensah A. and Larbi E. (2005). Fact Sheet Solid Waste Disposal (SWD) in Ghana.www.trend.watsan.net Accessed on May, 2011.

Miller C. (2004) Wastage. Food Waste http:// wastage.com/mag/waste-food-waste-2/ Accessed on 5th May, 2011.

MEFN, (2000). Ministry of Environment and Forestry Notification, New Delhi. http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/mswmhr.html Accessed on 5th May, 2011.

MEM, (2004). Environmental Challenges of Urban Development. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/MONGOLIAEXTN/Resources/MEM04.pdf Accessed on 5th May, 2011.

MLGR D. (1999). Environmental Sanitation Policy. Government of Ghana. http://www.rspo-in- ghana.org/sitescene/custom/userfiles/file/ENVIRONMENTAL_SANITATION_POLICY.pdf Accessed on 5th May, 2011.

MLGRD (2004). Sanitation Country Profile Ghana. www.un.org/esta/agenda21/ghana/sanitationGHANA04pdf Accessed on 13th April, 2011.

82 MLGRD (2009). National Report for Ghana Waste Management, 18th Section of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. www.un.org/NationalReports/ghana 13th April, 2011.

Muniafu, M. & Otiato, E. (2007). Solid Waste Management in Nairobi, Kenya: A Case for Emerging Economies. The Journal of Language, Technology & Entrepreneurship in Africa, 2(1); 342-350.

NEHA (2005) Environmental and Health Impacts of Household Solid Waste Handling and Disposal Practices in Third World Cities: The Case of the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. http://depts.washington.edu/envhlth/acad_programs/eh/ Accessed; 13th April, 2011.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (2011) http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8732.html. Accessed; May, 2011.

Oduro-Kwarteng, S., Awuah E.,Kotoka P., (2006). Solid Waste Management Practices in Kumasi, Ghana: Public Concerns and Attitudes towards Disposal and Cost Recovery. http://www.google.com.gh/search?q=Oduro- kwarteng%2C+S.%2C+Awuah+E%2C+and+Kotoka+P.%2C+%282006%29.&ie=utf- 8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a. Accessed; 8th January, 2012.

Ogawa H. (2005). Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Environmental Health Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Presented on the 7th ISWA International Congress and Exhibition. http://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/swm-fogawa1.htm Accessed; April, 2011

Othman J. (2002). Household Preferences for Solid Waste Management in Malaysia. http://ideas.repec.org/p/eep/report/rr2003054.html Accessed; May, 2011.

Palczynski R. J. (2002). Study on Solid Waste Management Options for Africa Project Report Final Draft Version. http://www.bscw.ihe.nl/pub/bscw.cgi/d1354356/SOLID%2520WASTE%2520MANAGEMEN T%2520STUDY.pdf Assessed: 11th January, 2012.

Puopiel F. (2010), Solid Waste Management in Ghana: The Case of Tamale Metropolitan Area. Thesis Presented to the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Richard L. T. and Woodbury B. P (1998). municipal solid waste composting: strategies for separating contaminants. http:s//www.google.com.ng/#q=tom+and+peter+1998+solid+waste+composting&hl=en&prmd =imvns&psj=1&ei=ICgQT5bFMuXo0QHjqfjDAw&start=10&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw., cf.osb&fp=9b91d4da8281c318&biw=1024&bih=624 Accessed; September, 2010.

83 Sam Jr. A. P. (2009). Are The Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices causing flooding during the rainy season in Accra, Ghana, West Africa. http://www.modernghana.com/news/223779/1/are-the-municipal-solid-waste- management-practices.html Accessed; November, 2010.

Schübeler P., Wehrle K. and Christen J., KART (1996), Conceptual Framework Formunicipal Solid Waste Management in Low-Income Countries. UNDP/UNCHS (Habitat)/ World Bank/SDC Collaborative Programme on Municipal Solid Waste Management in Low-Income Countries. Working paper N0. 9 http://www.worldbank.org/urban/solid_wm/erm/CWG%20folder/conceptualframework.pdf Accessed; May, 2011.

Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (2007). Medium-Term Development Plan (2006-2009) under the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy. Tamale, Northern Region. Tchobanoglous, G., Theisen, H. and Vigil, S. (1993). Integrated Solid Waste: Engineering principles and management issues. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, USA.

Tuani M. E. (2011)Oblogo, a case of societal failure? http://www.modernghana.com/news/330874/1/oblogo-a-case-of-societal-failure.html Accessed; 13th January, 2012.

US EPA (1999). State and Local Solutions to Solid Management Problems. http://www.epa.gov. Accessed; 13th December, 2012.

US EPA (2010). Waste-Resource Conservation-Common Waste & Materials-Organic-Organic Materials http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/organic/food/ Accessed; May, 2011.

US EPA (2011). Waste-Resource Conservation-Reduce/Reuse Recycle http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/reduce.htm Accessed; April, 2011.

US EPA, (2012). Municipal Solid Waste. Electricity from Municipal Solid Waste. Accessed; January, 2012.

UNEP. (1996). International Source Book on Environmentally Sound Technologies for Municipal Solid Waste Management. UNEP Technical Publication 6, Nov. 1996. Urban sector assessment report (2008) http://www.wateraid.org/documents/plugin_documents/urban_sector_assessment_report.pdf Accessed; 13th January, 2012.

WebGovernments, (2011). Solid waste management. Ghana. http://webgovernments.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/solid-waste-management-ghana Accessed; 9th January, 2012.

84 Whitworth, A. P. (2005). Part I. Thermal Breakdown Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste Components in Varying Oxygen Environments and Part II. Municipal Solid Waste Management in China. http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/Whitworth-thesis.pdf Assessed: January, 2012.

Wullt, J. (2010). 40% of Municipality Waste Recycled or Composted in 2008. Eurostat Press Office, Luxembourg Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, Accessed: June 18, 2010.

Zerbrugg. C. (2009).Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries. www.sanicon.net 4th October, 2011.

Zerbock, O. (2003). Urban Solid Waste Management: Waste Reduction in Developing Nations www.cee.mtu.edu. 13th April, 2011.

85 APPENDICES

Appendix I

DESIGN OF QUESTIONNAIRE BACK GROUND INFORMATION Name of Department/Organization:…………………………………… Name of Personnel:……………………………………………………. Position:……………………………………………………………….. QUESTIONS 1. Does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) play any role with respect to solid waste management in the Tamale Metropolis? o Monitory of Waste Disposal sites o Enforcement of regulations o Advisory o Others o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 2. How is waste collected finally disposed off by your outfit? o Dumping in isolated area o Waste dump o Land fills o Others o Comment 3. How many final waste disposal facilities are there in the metropolis? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Do you do any monitoring of these facilities? o Yes o No o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 5. How often do you do this monitoring? o Daily o Weekly o Monthly Comment………………………………………………………………………………………………… ...... 6. What parameters do you monitor and measure? o Leachate o Releases of land fill gases o Odour o Eye sore o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………

86 In your opinion, is it possible for private enterprises to develop sanitary landfills and charge waste collectors per number of tips? o Yes o No o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ...... 7. Do you carry out any waste treatment prior to disposal? o Yes o No o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ...... 8. What type of waste processing do you carry out? o Incineration o Composting o Biological digestion o Chemical Digestion o Others o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 9. Do you have any waste recovery programme? o Yes, o No o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 10. How does it work? Comment………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 11. What materials are recovered? o Paper o Plastic o Metal o Aluminium o Glass/Bottle o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 12. Do you carry out any waste recycling programme? o Yes o No o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 13. Do you have any programme that converts solid waste into energy? o Yes, o No o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………

87 14. What type? o Biogas generation, o Waste fuel o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 15. Which waste type would you consider as the most difficult to handle in the metropolis? o Bio-waste o Plastics o Scrap metals o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 16. How do you manage the type of solid waste that is most difficult to handle in the metropolis? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 17. If there should be a policy that advocate for waste processing prior to final disposal, what processing facilities would you recommend for the metropolis o Incineration o Composting o Biological digestion o Chemical Digestion o Others o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 18. In your opinion who should own such waste processing facilities? o Government o Private o Both private and government o Others……………………………………………………………………………………. o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………. 19. Landfill as a means of ultimate disposal cannot be avoided, would you support a policy that require the establishment of sanitary landfills in all metropolitan areas? o Yes o No o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 20. Who should own such facilities? o Government o Private o Both government and private

88 21. Are you aware of any environmental tax currently in place in this metropolis? o Yes o No o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………

22. How are your operations financed in the metropolis? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 23. Do you face any difficulties in sourcing funds for solid waste management in the metropolis? o Yes o No o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 24. Are you aware of any regulation/laws that punish indiscriminate waste disposal habit? o Yes o No o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 25. Would you recommend the imposition of more stringent regulation? o Yes o No o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 26. In the implementation of a more stringent regulation that punishes people who indiscriminately dispose off waste, what would you recommend as penalty for indiscriminate waste disposal? o Fine o Community work o Imprisonment o Other comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 27. What constraints do you envisage to the imposition of stringent laws with respect to waste Management? o Monitoring o Personnel o Others o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 28. Do you carryout source-sorting of waste? o No o Yes o Comments……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………

89 29. Would you recommend any waste sorting at source into bio waste and non bio waste? o Yes o No o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 30. What constraints do you envisage to such a scheme? o Lack of Finance o Lack of personnel o Technical constraints o Unconcerned attitude of the general public o Others……………………………………………………………………………… o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 31. Do you think your outfit can play a role in achieving sustainable solid waste management in the metropolis? o Yes o No o Comment………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 32. What constraints do you envisage to the roles your outfit can play in achieving sustainable solid waste management in this metropolis? Comments……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… 33. In your personal opinion, do you think it is possible to implement any sustainable solid waste management scheme? Comments……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… 34. How does your outfit collect solid waste in the metropolis? o House to house o Communal bins o Centralized community containers/bins 35. How frequent do you collect waste from o House to house……………………………………………………. o Communal bins…………………………………………………… o Centralized community containers/bins………………………….. 36. How many private waste management/collection companies operate within the metropolis? …………………… 37. What percentage of the metropolis do their operations cover? ………………………. Comments……………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 38. What percentage is covered by the metropolitan Assembly? ……………………… Comments…………………………………………………………………………………

90 39. What kind of contractual agreements did you engage in with the private solid waste management companies? o Contracting o Concession o Franchise o Open competition 40. How many houses do you collect waste from in your operational area …………………………. 41. What kind(s) of vehicle(s) do you use for solid waste collection in your operational area? o Trucks o Motor bikes o Tricycles o Others…………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 42. What kind(s) of vehicle(s) do you use for house to house solid waste collection in your operational area? o Trucks o Motor bikes o Tricycles o others…………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 43. What kind(s) of vehicle(s) do you use for communal bin solid waste collection in your operational area? o Trucks o Motor bikes o Tricycles o Others………………………………………………………………………………………….. 44. How many tones/kg of solid waste is collected from households daily in your operational area? ………………………….. 45. How many tones/kg of solid waste is collected from communal bins daily in your operational area? ………………………….. 46. What constraints do you encounter during? A. House to house solid waste collection……………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………

B. Communal bin solid waste collection………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 47. What is your source of funding for your operations?...... ………………………………………………………………………………………………

91 48. What are the major challenges you face during your operations?…………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 49. How far is the sanitary landfill from your operational area…………………………………………….

50. Is there a motorable road leading to the landfill site? o No o Yes 51. Are there any other dump sites aside the landfill in the metropolis? o No o Yes 52. If yes; how many are they……………………………….

53. How many communal collection points are there in the metropolis?……………………………

54. How many communal collection points are there in your operational area?......

92 Appendix II

Estimated quantity of waste generated per capita in selected areas within the Tamale Metropolis

Residential Estimated Number Estimated Number of Estimated Area/Section Population of Skips quantity of days taken for waste available waste Skips to get generated per collected (kg) full capita (kg) Zogbeli 13663 3 18000 2 0.65 Mossi Zongo 16679 3 18000 2 0.54 Changli 11016 3 18000 4 0.40 Gumbihini 13152 5 30000 4 0.57 Kalpohin 19148 2 12000 2 0.31 Choggu 15874 2 12000 3 0.25 Aboabo 9496 3 18000 2 0.95 Lamashegu 22510 3 18000 3 0.27 Kukuo 6557 3 18000 3 0.91 Nyohini 19172 3 16800 3 0.29 Tishigu 16077 1 5600 4 0.09 Jakalayili 4958 1 5600 5 0.23 Lamakara 1135 1 5600 4 1.23 School of hygiene 3255 1 5600 6 0.29 St. Charles 4334 1 5600 4 0.32 Tuutigli 8072 1 5600 3 0.23 Gumani 6510 1 5600 4 0.22