Municipal waste management in Kumasi: the prospects of building and operating small-scale community-based composting plants

In Kumasi, Ghana, the Waste Management Department faces big the provision of household waste collection services and for disposal generated by the city. Population grows at accelerated pace fuelled by in-i the budget allocated for Waste Management activities and abilities of authorities to handle the problem are inadequate to meet the needs of the services. Composting offers a possible alternative of waste minimisation. If within an integrated strategy of waste management, the city would benefit not only improving its sanitary conditions, but also because compost is an agricultural input capable of regenerating the soil and improving yields of farmers. If compost is made available to urban and pen-urban framers, the city would have an increase food supply of higher quality agricultural products. The present research studies institutional perception of composting minimise waste and as an agricultural input, institutional supportiveness regulations for building and operating SS-CB composting plants in Kumasi. Experiences of composting are analysed to provide lessons on how institutional linkage have influenced success or failure of composting plants. In pursuing the objectives of the study, data were obtained from policy documents and Waste Management publications in Ghana and other countries; from physical inspections of compost stations in Ghana and other West African countries, scheduled interviews to representatives of key institutions, and focus group discussions, In the study, the Environmental Sanitation Policy (ESP), drafted in 1999, was analysed. Major findings were that the ESP does not serve as a barrier to implement SS-CB composting plants, in those CBOs and NGOs are enjoined to participate in the provision of sanitation services. However, gaps exist in the regulations at level, where by-laws should be the instruments to regulate recycling initiatives, and to guarantee security of operations for CBOs and NGOs. The institutions interviewed have a positive perception of compost way to minimise waste and as a good agricultural input, and are predisposed to supporting initiatives. With the panorama of roles and activities for vane performance already existing in Kumasi, a breadth of institutional potentials to integrate composting as part of a metropolitan strategy for Waste Management is poised for action. In two compost plants visited during the field research, lack of an adequate regulatory framework accounted for the temporal suspension of operations of the composting plants. It was observed then, that the policy and legal framework decisively affect the sustainability of composting plants. It was also learned that cases with strong linkages to the community and to the supporting institutions have better prospect of sustainability. For the marketing of compost, it was found that cases where marketing was done through the WMD do not show good performance in sales as compared to cases where an institution with strong relationship with farmers and expertise dissemination is involved. Given the propitious circumstances in Kumasi, recommendation has initiate meetings among the key institutions and other stakeholders and forum for the exchange of ideas and knowledge aimed at creating and development schemes for the utilisation of organic waste. As a conclusion, it is observed that inter-institutional partnerships and co-ordination of efforts are key elements contributing to the sustainability of SS-CB composting plants. An SS-CB composting project working in isolation is prompt to fail in many aspects. Also, CBOs can play active roles in the delivery of sanitation service and the production of agricultural inputs. Policies and legal regulations are tin to promote and secure their creation and operation.

Source: KNUST