Paper Title
Social and Economic Factors Influencing the Management of Solid Waste in Ghana: A Case Study of the Kumasi Metropolis
Abstract
The challenge of managing solid waste effectively is becoming crucial in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area largely
due to rapid urbanization, poor financing capacity of authorities and lack of safe waste disposal sites. More than 90% of solid
waste generated was not properly disposed off until 2004 when the Dompoase Landfill was constructed to be the final
disposal site for all the wastes produced in the metropolis. The project has been hailed as a ‘blessing’ from the point of view
of costs, location and environmental impacts. Waste in the landfill is also to be used to produce energy and fertilizer through
composting. However, the operation of the landfill has come with very daunting challenges as people who reside close to it
and the general public has put up fierce resistance in an effort to protect their right to live in a healthy and hazard-free
environment. The aim of this study is to the socio-economic factors influencing the management of solid waste in Ghana.
Keyword - Waste Management, Solid Waste, Landfill, Waste Collection