Stakeholders in the sanitation sector are demanding a shift from landfills to engineered waste treatment, warning that without sustainable funding, Accra’s cleanliness and environmental safety are at serious risk.
The call was made during a high-level stakeholder dialogue on landfill and waste management held at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra on Monday, June 8, 2026, on the theme “Alleviating Waste Disposal Crisis in Greater Accra.”
The meeting brought together government officials, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), sanitation experts and private sector operators.
Ghana generates 4,400 tonnes of solid waste daily — 1.6 million tonnes a year — yet only 80% gets collected. All 17 landfills built with international partners reached capacity within a decade. And poor waste management already costs the country over GH¢6.2 billion annually from flooding, healthcare, and environmental damage.
According to the Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister, Ahmed Ibrahim, sustainable financing is the biggest obstacle, with talks underway to settle debts owed to private waste companies.
The Executive Chairman of JGC and President of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, adds that landfills are an outdated failure; modern systems need collection, recycling, and composting first. Right now, household collection fees in Ghana lag far behind the $15–$20 benchmark for lower-middle-income nations.
Ghana now has over 50 waste treatment and composting facilities, and local firms are exporting expertise to Kenya and Ethiopia.
According to the participants, policy talk must convert into real funding — or Accra’s waste crisis will only deepen.
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