Assessment Performance of Waste Management Institutions In Ghana

Abstract

Ghana’s Local Government Act (Act 462) and the Environmental Sanitation Policy (1999) make the management of municipal solid waste the responsibility of local authorities, specifically, the waste management and environmental health departments, and the private sector. Only 41 percent of the waste generated in the Shama-Ahanta East Metropolis is properly disposed of. This article examines residents’ assessment of the performance of the waste management institutions and evaluates the level of community involvement in the management of solid waste. Using a stratified sampling technique, 384 households were randomly selected to reflect the various typologies of suburbs (high, middle, and low income groups). Over half of the respondents rated the performance of the waste management and the environmental health departments as average in waste collection while the private companies were rated as good. The high and middle income groups favor the private sector while the low-income areas favor the waste management department. Additionally, while the local authorities claim higher community involvement in waste management, the respondents indicate very low involvement. The article recommends greater community participation so that the residents will bear higher immediate responsibility in the management of solid waste in this metropolis.