Exploring the extent of refuse use on urban cropping in Zongo of the Wa Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Refuse heaps are common scenes in cities in developing countries amidst the springing up of urban cropping but with low yields. However, the linkages between refuse generation and use in urban cropping appear to be little addressed in the existing literature. This paper sought to explore the separation of refuse into biodegradable and non-degradable and the use of the biodegradable portion as compost in urban cropping to improve crop production often linked to urban food availability. Hence, refuse generation at the household levels and refuse at the dumping sites were determined and sorted out using Wa Zongo as a study area. By combining convenience and simple random sampling, fifteen respondents from fifteen houses within a 150-metre radius of a dumping site were interviewed. Descriptive statistics, connecting and classifying, were employed in the data analysis. Findings revealed that more refuse is generated; a greater portion is decomposable; 93.3% of the respondents do not know the use of refuse for cropping; and, 53.3% prefer inorganic fertilizers for farming. To reduce refuse and eliminate the heaps, this study recommends refuse segregation at home and dump sites, biodegradable refuse for the production of compost and the use of public education to achieve this feat.