2 Landfill sites identified for Accra metropolis
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has identified two new sites to be developed as engineered landfill sites as part of efforts to manage waste in the Accra metropolis.
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Located at Ashalaga-Habor, and Ayidan in the Ga South Municipality, the sites, when they become operational, would be the final waste disposal site for residents in the Accra metropolis.
The new sites are intended to reduce pressure on other landfill sites in and around the city and also allow for effective management of waste in the metropolis.
In addition, a mini waste transfer station located at Oblogo which is projected to be ready in three months, would serve as a waste collection point. Waste deposited there would be compressed and finally sent to the landfill sites to be recycled into fertiliser for agriculture and energy purposes including the production of gas.
The Ashalaga-Habor landfill site is to be acquired by the government through the Ministry of Local Government with support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana-Netherlands Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash) Programme.
The Ayidan facility, which is a private concern, is to be managed by Rexel Waste Management. The facility is envisioned to turn waste into energy. J-Stanley-Owusu (JSO) Group, a waste management company, is in charge of the mini-waste transfer station at Oblogo.
Engineered landfill site
An engineered landfill site is a waste disposal site where solid waste, such as paper, glass, and metal, are buried between layers of dirt and other materials in such a way as to reduce contamination of the surrounding land.
Modern landfills are lined with layers of absorbent material and sheets of plastic to keep pollutants from leaking into the soil and water. This is known as the sanitary landfill.
Visit to the sites
During a visit to the sites by the two Deputy Ministers of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum and Nii Lante Vanderpuiye, it was observed that though the Ashalaja-Habor land was suitable for a landfill site, there was the need to do a final impact assessment of the land before it is finally acquired.
The ministers were accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, the Municipal Chief Executive of Ga South, Mr Jerry Akwei Thompson, the Press Secretary of the Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, Mr Fred Smiet, and some waste contractors.
Private initiative
At the Ayidan landfill facility, the Chief Executive Officer of Rexel Waste Management, managers of the site, Dr Peter Ayittey, said an estimated GH¢10 million had so far been used to put up the first phase of the project.
That, he said, included offices, drainage systems, water works, weighing bridges, among other facilities.
He said one of the challenges currently facing the company was the accessibility of the landfill site by the waste contractors as the road network was poor.
For the mini-waste transfer site at Oblogo, the Chief Executive Officer of JSO Group, Mr William Stanley Owusu, said the company was committed to ensuring an effective waste management within the metropolis.
He said apart from the transfer station, the company would, by the end of the year, begin the exploration of methane gas from an old landfill site which was formerly a quarry site located at Oblogo Number 1 in the Ga South Municipality.
Support from Netherlands
For his part, Mr Smiet said the embassy through the Ghana-Netherlands Wash Programme was ready to assist the country to develop good measures and policies related to waste management and water.
“In The Netherlands, waste is money and we are looking at advising the Ghana government on how to turn waste into money,” he said.