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According to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Accra faces the risk of a disease epidemic because all of the city's landfills are now fully occupied.
During a recent working visit to assembly in the Greater Accra Region, the Parliamentary Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources was informed of this concerning update.
Engineer Solomon Noi, the AMA's Director of Waste Management, clarified that the lack of properly designed landfill sites and infrastructure for disposing of waste has made the matter worse.
We used to dump at a quarry site in Ga West called Nsumia, which was named after Blue Skies. After we filled that void, we had to relocate to Nsawam, our current location. In addition to being used by Nsawam Adoagyiri, it subsequently became a location for the Greater Accra and Eastern Region and is currently privately run by West Landforce, he said.
According to Mr. Noi, the only engineered site that is now accessible is at Kpone; however, a new location at Ayidan in the Ga South Municipality is being considered.
Before choosing a location for a dump, there are a few things to consider. There is nothing like that, he added, "apart from the one at Kpone and the new one we are considering getting at Ayidan."
He cautioned that a health crisis would soon strike the city if nothing is done.
"We are gathering rubbish from Accra and transporting it a considerable distance, but not far enough. These websites aren't designed. Thus, when it rains, the leachate makes its way back to the city through rivers and depressions," he explained.
Mr. Noi also expressed worries about the role waste pickers—many of whom are migrants from nearby nations—play in the spread of illnesses and the health hazards associated with poorly managed medical and sanitary waste.
All of the garbage from hospitals and medical facilities ends up there. He clarified, "We keep seeing cycles of cholera, typhoid, and other infections because it mingles with other waste and these people bring it back into town."
He suggested building a state-of-the-art intermediate waste treatment facility to stop additional risks to public health.
"The government should acquire an intermediate treatment facility, such as a cutting-edge incinerator plant, to handle non-recyclables like sanitary pads, baby nappies, and medical waste,"
Prior to the bottom ash being transported to a landfill, pathogens would perish in the furnace. We can break the chain of disease infection that way," he stated.
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