Abstract
Increased population growth and rapid urbanization have resulted in the generation of large quantities of solid waste across major urban cities in Ghana, outstripping local authorities' ability to manage and dispose of waste in a sanitary manner. This study explored the perspectives and experiences of municipal waste company managers and supervisors in the Ho municipality of Ghana on solid waste management practices. A qualitative inquiry was conducted by adopting a phenomenological approach, using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions for data collection. A total of 35 participants, made up of 12 managers and 23 supervisors took part in the study. Transcribed data were imported into NVivo 11.0 software for coding. Content analysis was applied to analyze all transcribed data using processes of induction and deduction. The results showed that organizational capacity, resources, and expertise; community factors such as socio-cultural beliefs and a low sense of responsibility towards solid waste management among urban residents; contextual factors such as regulations, and weak enforcement all influence and shape the level of efficiency and effectiveness of solid waste management practices in the study setting. The findings suggest that policy frameworks and procedures implemented to curb poor urban waste management practices should be systematic and thorough in order to tackle the issue of solid waste in the study setting and Ghana in general. The nature of the identified issues and challenges requires multidimensional and multilevel interventions to provide sustainable solutions for managing urban waste in Ghana.
Highlights
The volume of solid waste generated is increasing as a result of population density, economic growth, urbanization, and industrialization [1]
Increased population growth and urbanization have resulted in increased generation of large quantities of solid waste across many cities in developing countries, outstripping local authorities’ ability to manage and dispose of solid waste in a sanitary manner [8,9,10]
A phenomenological qualitative research design was used and it employed in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) to collect data in the two waste management companies referred to as Company A and Company B
Summary
The volume of solid waste generated is increasing as a result of population density, economic growth, urbanization, and industrialization [1]. It is estimated that an average of 1.9 billion tons of solid waste is generated annually in most cities in the world [2]. Effective solid waste management plays a major role in combatting the health and environmental concerns urbanized cities suffer from, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [1, 3, 4]. Increased population growth and urbanization have resulted in increased generation of large quantities of solid waste across many cities in developing countries, outstripping local authorities’ ability to manage and dispose of solid waste in a sanitary manner [8,9,10]. Despite spending 30 to 50% of their operational budgets on solid waste management, cities in low- and middle-income countries such as Ghana, only collect between 50 and 80% of the waste generated [11, 12]
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