Ernest Morgan Acquah, Communications Manager for Zoomlion Ghana Limited, disclosed that 70% of Accra’s waste is being collected, leaving 30% uncollected.
He added that major waste management companies, including Zoomlion, handle 80% of the collected waste, while local tricycle operators, known as “Aboboyaa,” manage the remaining 20%.
Chronic flooding in Accra has been worsened by clogged gutters filled with waste, presenting a long-standing challenge for the city.
In an interview, Mr Acquah expressed concern over the absence of a proper landfill site in Accra.
“Yes 70% of waste is collected in Accra, 30% not collected. The big companies including us collect 80%, with Aboboyaa collecting 20%. We either treat or dispose of the waste when collected. One big challenge we have in Accra, as we speak, there’s no final disposal site in Accra, so when we pick up the waste from Accra, we do a round trip of about 100 kilometres to go and dump it in a landfill site in the Eastern region – Adepa. Before we come back and collect the next set,” he lamented.
Despite frequent clean-up efforts with different assemblies in the Greater Accra Region, Zoomlion’s Communications Manager acknowledged that a large amount of waste remains on the ground.
“What we’re finding on the ground is quite a lot, though we have been doing regular clean-ups with the Assemblies. In just the first quarter, we’re aiming for around 250 tons per assembly, we’re exceeding it for every Assembly. People are just throwing in the gutters and all of that.”
Mr Acquah shared that about 80% of the collected waste is disposed of, while 20% is recycled.
“Currently, in Accra, about 80% of the waste we pick, we dispose, only 20% goes into the recycling plant,” he noted.
He stated that the waste disposal challenge has been addressed with the introduction of recycling plants in all 16 regions.
“Zoomlion has introduced the recycling plant across the country. Now we have a recycling plant in all the 16 regions,” Mr Acquah stated.
However, he criticised some “Aboboyaa” operators for their improper disposal of waste collected from smaller communities.
“There’s a breach with the collection. We have an influx of Aboboyaa now, so we will consider them as picking the waste. But most of them don’t dispose it rightly. We have transfer stations that some take the waste to us, others don’t.
“The problem is that some of them when they pick it from the households, we’re counting them as waste as part of the 70%. But they will go dispose it off at different places – Motorway, sometimes at night. When you ply the Tema Motorway, you will see heaps of waste.”
