Ghana orders MMDCEs to secure land for waste stations within 30 days

Ghana's Local Government Minister, Mahama Ayariga, has issued a 30-day directive to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to identify and submit land for new waste transfer stations. Each identified site must be at least one acre in size.

This initiative is part of a comprehensive overhaul of the national waste management system, aimed at creating an integrated process for collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling. The plan, directed by President John Dramani Mahama, seeks to improve sanitation starting at the household level. Key components include providing households with two separate bins to facilitate the sorting of organic waste from other solid waste at the source.

Additionally, the government intends to modernize waste transportation by replacing open-bucket tricycles, known locally as ‘Aboboyaa’, with self-loading and self-tipping vehicles. The directive specifically tasks assemblies in major urban areas, including Accra, Kumasi, and Sekondi-Takoradi, with identifying locations for these transfer stations as well as properly engineered landfill facilities.