Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace

AbstractThere is increased municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in most municipalities across the globe. This study assessed the recycling potential and contribution of the informal sector to waste management in the Techiman municipality of Ghana. MSW was collected from 400 households for 10 conti...

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Main Authors: Edward A. Awafo, Emmanuel Amankwah, Ishmael Agbalekpor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:Cogent Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2182867
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author Edward A. Awafo
Emmanuel Amankwah
Ishmael Agbalekpor
author_facet Edward A. Awafo
Emmanuel Amankwah
Ishmael Agbalekpor
author_sort Edward A. Awafo
collection DOAJ
description AbstractThere is increased municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in most municipalities across the globe. This study assessed the recycling potential and contribution of the informal sector to waste management in the Techiman municipality of Ghana. MSW was collected from 400 households for 10 continuous days and characterised. On average, 3.2 kg and 0.8 kg of MSW are generated per household and per person per day, respectively. The fractions of MSW were found to be 66.5% organics, 19.2% plastics, 3.3% paper, 3.2% metals, 1.6% leather and plastics, 0.9% glass, 0.6% textiles, 2.7% inert and 1.9% miscellaneous. Recycling potential for the Techiman municipality was found to be 29%, which means 29% of the respondents informally engage in recycling activities. The study also revealed that 33% of the respondents engage the services of the informal sector to dispose of their waste. Thirty-seven per cent (37%) of the respondents in the municipality dispose of their generated waste at various open designated sites, while 31% use public waste containers. The study further established that, incentives such as improved sanitation and financial rewards, free waste bins, among others, would greatly improve waste management. Also, formalisation and regulation of activities of the informal waste collectors can increase recycling and waste collection in the municipality.
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spelling doaj.art-5c5a11013a2246fc915b73345d6abaa02024-04-22T10:42:48ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862023-12-019110.1080/23311886.2023.2182867Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menaceEdward A. Awafo0Emmanuel Amankwah1Ishmael Agbalekpor2Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, GhanaDepartment of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, GhanaDepartment of Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, GhanaAbstractThere is increased municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in most municipalities across the globe. This study assessed the recycling potential and contribution of the informal sector to waste management in the Techiman municipality of Ghana. MSW was collected from 400 households for 10 continuous days and characterised. On average, 3.2 kg and 0.8 kg of MSW are generated per household and per person per day, respectively. The fractions of MSW were found to be 66.5% organics, 19.2% plastics, 3.3% paper, 3.2% metals, 1.6% leather and plastics, 0.9% glass, 0.6% textiles, 2.7% inert and 1.9% miscellaneous. Recycling potential for the Techiman municipality was found to be 29%, which means 29% of the respondents informally engage in recycling activities. The study also revealed that 33% of the respondents engage the services of the informal sector to dispose of their waste. Thirty-seven per cent (37%) of the respondents in the municipality dispose of their generated waste at various open designated sites, while 31% use public waste containers. The study further established that, incentives such as improved sanitation and financial rewards, free waste bins, among others, would greatly improve waste management. Also, formalisation and regulation of activities of the informal waste collectors can increase recycling and waste collection in the municipality.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2182867Informal waste collectorsrecyclingwaste managementwaste menace
spellingShingle Edward A. Awafo
Emmanuel Amankwah
Ishmael Agbalekpor
Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace
Cogent Social Sciences
Informal waste collectors
recycling
waste management
waste menace
title Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace
title_full Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace
title_fullStr Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace
title_full_unstemmed Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace
title_short Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace
title_sort assessing solid waste management practices in the techiman municipality of ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace
topic Informal waste collectors
recycling
waste management
waste menace
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2182867
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AT emmanuelamankwah assessingsolidwastemanagementpracticesinthetechimanmunicipalityofghanaandthepotentialofrecyclingforrevenuemobilizationandreductionofwastemenace
AT ishmaelagbalekpor assessingsolidwastemanagementpracticesinthetechimanmunicipalityofghanaandthepotentialofrecyclingforrevenuemobilizationandreductionofwastemenace