Newmont provides Birim North District with landfill

Newmont Akyem Mine, a multinational gold mining company, has financed the construction of a sanitary landfill in the Birim North District in the Eastern Region.

The site, located at New Abirem, is the first planned and controlled landfill in the district and cost approximately GH¢2 million to build. 

The facility also makes the Birim North District the first district in Ghana to have such an engineered sanitary facility. In Ghana all engineered landfill sites are in metropolitan areas. They include the Kpone Landfill in Tema and the Tamale Landfill in the Northern Region. The landfill was a partnership project between Newmont Akyem mine and the Birim North District Assembly.

The landfill has a total area of 108 hectares which  was given out freely by the chief of Abirem, Nana Amoh Kyeretwie I, for the purpose of managing waste in the district. The design and capacity of the project is said to be based on the 2010 estimated population of the nine communities in the mine’s catchment area, which was 22,266, and an average daily waste production per capita of 0.45kg. In one year, the nine communities are expected to generate 10.1 tons of solid waste per day or 3,686.5 tons. It is estimated that if the population should grow to, say 37,000 as  a result of influx of people into the area, waste generated was going to increase rapidly to 16.7 tons per day.

The Birim North District Chief Executive, Mr Paul Aboagye Dadzie, expressed his gratitude to Newmont for deciding to assist the assembly to effectively manage refuse in the district. 

In an interview with the Daily Graphic Mr  Oduro-Kwarteng Marfo, the Communication and External Relations Manager of Newmont Akyem Mine, said the provision of the landfill site was in line with Newmont’s ideals of demonstrating leadership which inspired the need to manage and protect the environment in a socially responsible manner. He was hopeful that the landfill would go a long way to support the district assembly in its effort to properly manage sanitation in the area.