Give Agbogbloshie Market waste transfer station - Assembly Member

The Assembly Member for the Amamomo Electoral Area in the Odododiodoo Constituency in Accra, Mr Musah Ziyad, has suggested to the government to establish a waste transfer station at the Agbogbloshie Market in Accra.

According to him, the area was already a dumping ground for waste and it would, therefore, be more appropriate to handle the situation better with the establishment of the transfer station.

“If we have such a station here, it would provide jobs for the people and also help them to become their own ambassadors when it comes to sanitation,” he said.

A transfer station is a facility where solid waste is unloaded from smaller trucks into larger vehicles such as trucks, for transportation to a final disposal site such as a recycling plant, waste-to-energy facility, composting site or a landfill.

Waste is normally moved from site within minutes or hours after arrival.

Mr Ziyad gave the suggestion during a clean-up exercise in the area yesterday. During the exercise, which was actively led by youth leaders in the area, the residents swept and removed silt from choked drains.

All shop owners were directed to close their shops to participate in the exercise while others took the opportunity to organise their personal clean-up exercise and dispose of their refuse.

The exercise was organised in collaboration with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and workers of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste management company.

Sanitation in Agbogbloshie

Sanitation is one of the biggest challenges facing residents of the Agbogbloshie Market in Accra.

From open defaecation to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse, the community popularly known as Sodom and Gomorrah, which is situated in the Odododiodoo Constituency in Accra, has for over a decade been the headache of successive governments and waste management companies.

Most gutters are choked with rubbish and rotten foodstuffs such as tomatoes and oranges, causing some portions of the market to stink.

Also worrying is the environmental and sanitation pollution at the market as a result of the dumping of e-waste at a refuse dump in the area.

Heaps of old computers and accessories that are unusable are continuously being dumped at the place without due regard to the environmental implications.

Sanitation measures

Highlighting some of the measures that would be put in place to curb the in sanitary conditions in the area, Mr Ziyad said with support from the AMA, residents would be advised on the need to keep their environments clean.

He also advised the residents to as much as possible participate in the monthly National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise that had been instituted by the government to help reduce the filth in the area and also keep the environment clean.

The Communications Manager of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mr Robert Coleman, said the company was committed to ensuring a clean environment at all times with support from the public.

He said as the rains were gradually setting in, it was important for all citizens to adhere to good sanitary conditions and avoid the dumping of refuse into open drains that had the tendency of causing floods when it rained.