https://www.myjoyonline.com/resetting-ghanas-urban-waste-sector-the-role-of-household-behavioural-change-in-driving-sustainability/-------https://www.myjoyonline.com/resetting-ghanas-urban-waste-sector-the-role-of-household-behavioural-change-in-driving-sustainability/
Jacob Naabong Dapilah, PhD

1. Introduction

Resetting Ghana’s development trajectory spans critical sectors like tourism, education, healthcare, and agriculture, all of which depend on a strong value system for sustainable progress. Yet, amid these priorities, one critical sector demands urgent attention—waste management. Nowhere is this more evident than in the densely populated municipalities along the Odaw River Basin within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA). Perennial flooding, overflowing skip containers/waste collection points, choked drains, and litter-strewn streets have become not only symbols of environmental neglect but also a test of societal values such as accountability, sustainability, and collective responsibility. Research indicates that households are responsible for generating between 55% and 80% of urban waste, positioning them as both the largest contributors to the crisis and the most influential agents of change.

The question is: What strategies can reset the mindset of the Ghanaian household to redefine the waste narrative and drive the country toward a sustainable future?

Affectionately known as the gate to Africa, Accra is overwhelmed by a waste crisis that stems from seemingly trivial actions—a discarded plastic bottle here, a food wrapper there—that collectively snowball into an environmental catastrophe. Overflowing bins, plastic-choked drains, and litter-strewn streets are not just environmental hazards—they reflect collective behaviours, misplaced priorities, and gaps in systemic support. GAMA produces an estimated 2,800 metric tons of waste daily, perpetuating an unsustainable “take, make, dispose” model that depletes resources and accelerates environmental degradation.

While households are pivotal agents of change, sustainable waste management cannot be achieved in isolation; it requires robust systemic interventions to support and amplify individual efforts. Reliable waste collection infrastructure, enforceable policies, targeted public education campaigns and strategic partnerships with private-sector stakeholders are crucial for enabling households to adopt sustainable practices such as waste sorting, reducing single-use plastics, and recycling. These systemic supports not only empower households but also unlock significant opportunities for resource recovery. With 80.9% of GAMA’s waste being recoverable through recycling, composting, and repurposing, the region is uniquely positioned to transition toward a circular economy—one where waste transforms from a burden into a valuable resource.

Pro-environmental campaigns that instil a sense of responsibility, environmental stewardship, and moral accountability are essential for breaking through the cultural and socio-economic barriers that impede sustainable waste management. These campaigns hold the transformative potential to reshape societal attitudes and behaviours, motivating individuals and households to embrace waste management as a shared responsibility rather than merely an external obligation. By fostering a collective commitment to environmental sustainability, such initiatives can drive meaningful change at both the community and systemic levels.

This article examines the critical role of households in addressing the waste crisis, emphasizing behavioural changes such as waste sorting, recycling, and reducing single-use plastics. It highlights the systemic barriers that hinder progress and calls for practical, collaborative solutions that align household actions with robust infrastructure and policy support. The time to act is now—through coordinated efforts, Ghana can reset its waste narrative and create a sustainable urban future.

2. Municipal Solid waste management in the Greater Accra Region: Insights from the Odaw River Basin

The Greater Accra Region, located on Ghana’s southern coast along the Gulf of Guinea, is the country’s smallest administrative region, covering just 3,245 km² (1.4% of Ghana’s total land area). Despite its modest size, it is the most populated region, with 5,455,692 residents as of 2021, representing 17.7% of the national population. This makes it the most densely populated region in the country, with a population density of approximately 1,681 people per km². Accra, the regional and national capital, also serves as a vital hub for economic, political, and social activities, attracting a daily influx of commuters, traders, and tourists.

The high population density, combined with the demands of daily economic activities, has placed significant strain on the region’s limited infrastructure, particularly its waste management systems. At the centre of this challenge is the Odaw River Basin, a densely populated area within GAMA that houses approximately 3.2 million people, accounting for 63% of the region’s population. This concentration of people, paired with inadequate waste management systems, highlights the urgent need for solutions to address the growing environmental and public health concerns in the region.

This situation has led to widespread environmental and public health crises, including overflowing waste, clogged waterways, severe flooding, and the spread of diseases such as cholera. The inability of waste infrastructure to keep pace with the growing demand has exacerbated these challenges, creating a cycle of degradation and vulnerability. Addressing this requires urgent systemic reforms and a shift toward sustainable practices, with households playing a crucial role in reversing the trend.

The Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project represents a critical effort to mitigate these challenges. Focused on the Odaw River Basin, GARID seeks to improve flood risk and solid waste management by enhancing access to basic infrastructure and services in targeted communities. The project aims to provide immediate and effective responses to crises while addressing systemic gaps in waste management. By integrating community participation with structural interventions, GARID has the potential to set a precedent for sustainable urban development across the region.

Current State of Waste Management

Overflowing waste bins, plastic-choked drains, and streets littered with uncollected trash are a daily reality across GAMA. These visible signs of neglect highlight a systemic failure in waste management, perpetuated by an unsustainable “take, make, dispose” linear model. This approach, where resources are consumed and discarded without thought for recovery or reuse, has not only intensified pressure on natural resources but also led to the overstretching of all landfills in the region.

With landfill capacities exhausted, the urgency for a rapid transition to waste separation at source and resource recovery has never been greater. Implementing such measures can reduce the waste burden on landfills, promote recycling and composting, and align GAMA with the principles of a circular economy. Without these immediate changes, the region risks exacerbating its waste crisis, further threatening public health, environmental sustainability, and economic growth.

Data on Waste Generation in GAMA

GAMA generates an estimated 2,800 metric tons of waste daily, with an average per capita waste generation rate of 0.7 kilograms per day. The composition of this waste stream reveals significant opportunities for recovery:

  • 54% Biodegradables: Suitable for composting and organic waste recovery.
  • 16% Plastics: Potentially recyclable if properly sorted and processed.
  • 13% Inert Materials: Limited reuse potential but could be repurposed in construction.
  • 3.7% Glass, 3.2% Textiles, 2% Paper, and 2% Metals: All valuable materials for recycling or repurposing.

Despite the significant opportunities for waste recovery, the waste collection coverage in Accra remains critically inadequate, averaging just 75%, meaning a staggering 25% of waste is left unmanaged. This contrasts sharply with advanced economies like Germany, Sweden, and Japan, where waste collection rates approach 100%, ensuring nearly all waste is collected and properly handled. The unmanaged waste in Accra is often burned, buried, or dumped into drains and open spaces, leading to severe environmental and public health hazards, including clogged waterways, air pollution, and disease outbreaks such as cholera.

Equally troubling is the fate of the collected waste. Over 95% of it is dumped into uncontrolled or semi-controlled landfills, many of which are overstretched and nearing capacity. In comparison, advanced economies have largely minimized landfill usage, with some countries like Sweden sending less than 1% of their waste to landfills. Furthermore, while recycling or recovery rates in Accra stand at a mere 10%, sustained almost entirely by informal waste actors, advanced economies such as Germany and South Korea achieve recycling rates exceeding 50%-65%. These countries utilize sophisticated waste separation systems, recycling infrastructure, and waste-to-energy facilities to recover resources and manage waste sustainably.

The stark disparity in both waste collection and recycling rates underscores the urgent need for systemic reforms in the GAMA. Implementing strategies such as waste separation at source, expanding recycling infrastructure, and integrating informal waste actors into formal systems could significantly improve waste recovery rates and reduce reliance on overstretched landfills. Without immediate action, the region’s waste crisis will continue to threaten its environment, economy, and public health.

Environmental and Social Consequences of Poor Waste Management

The consequences of inadequate waste management are far-reaching:

  1. Resource Depletion: The linear waste management model depletes natural resources by failing to recover recyclable and reusable materials, thereby increasing demand for raw materials.
  2. Flooding and Property Damage: Choked drains exacerbate flooding, leading to significant property damage and loss of life in vulnerable communities.
  3. Public Health Risks: Accumulated waste attracts disease vectors, such as rodents and mosquitoes, contributing to the spread of diseases like malaria and cholera.
  4. Environmental Pollution: The uncontrolled burning and dumping of waste release harmful pollutants into the air, soil, and water, affecting ecosystems and human health.

Addressing these challenges requires a shift from the linear model to a circular economy approach, coupled with enhanced infrastructure, policy enforcement, and community engagement. The waste crisis in GAMA, exemplified by the Odaw River Basin, highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive, sustainable, and inclusive waste management strategy.

3. The role of households in waste management

Households are pivotal in addressing the waste management crisis as they are the primary generators of MSW. Their active participation is essential to any sustainable solution. Pro-environmental interventions, designed in a participatory manner to promote moral correctness, responsibility, respect for the environment, and positive affect, can empower households to separate waste at its source. This empowerment not only facilitates proper waste management but also aligns household actions with broader environmental sustainability goals.

By adopting practices such as waste separation at source for recycling and composting, households can significantly reduce the environmental and public health risks associated with poor waste management. These behavioural changes are key to transforming the waste management system and fostering a circular economy where waste is treated as a valuable resource.

This approach contributes to the development of a comprehensive MSW strategy in the region. Moreover, it holds the potential to inform research and implementation efforts in waste diversion and the circular economy across other jurisdictions, creating a scalable model for sustainable waste management. The role of households is not just critical—it is transformative in resetting the waste narrative and driving sustainability forward.

Households as Key Actors

Households are both the primary source of waste generation and the starting point for its effective management. They possess the potential to significantly reduce waste accumulation through simple yet impactful actions, such as:

  1. Sorting Waste at the Source: Separating biodegradables, plastics, and recyclables from non-recyclables can facilitate proper disposal and enhance recycling rates.
  2. Minimizing Single-Use Plastics: Adopting reusable bags, bottles, and packaging materials can reduce the volume of non-biodegradable waste.
  3. Recycling and Composting: Households can actively contribute to resource recovery by recycling materials like paper, plastics, glass, and metals while turning organic waste into compost for agricultural use.

Opportunities for Resource Recovery

Given the high volume of GAMA’s waste that is recoverable through recycling, composting, and repurposing, household participation in waste separation and recycling presents a significant opportunity to address the waste crisis effectively. By embracing sustainable practices, households can help drive the transition toward a circular economy where waste becomes a valuable resource rather than a burden. For example:

  • Biodegradables (54%): These can be composted to produce nutrient-rich organic fertilizer, reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers and enhancing soil fertility for agricultural use.
  • Plastics (16%): Properly sorted plastics can be recycled into new products, such as building materials or packaging, thereby decreasing demand for virgin materials and mitigating environmental pollution.
  • Metals, Glass, and Textiles (10.9%): These materials can be reprocessed for industrial use or creatively repurposed into innovative products, supporting resource conservation and reducing landfill overflow.

By engaging households in these waste recovery efforts, GAMA can capitalize on the vast potential of its recoverable waste stream, fostering sustainability and resource efficiency across the region.

Barriers to Household Participation

Despite their critical role, households face several barriers that limit their effective participation in waste management:

  1. Lack of Awareness: Many households lack knowledge of sustainable waste practices such as sorting and recycling.
  2. Inadequate Infrastructure: Limited access to waste collection points and recycling facilities hinders participation.
  3. Cultural and Behavioral Norms: Established habits and resistance to change often discourage households from adopting new practices.
  4. Economic Constraints: The cost of sustainable alternatives, such as reusable items, may be prohibitive for low-income households.

Empowering Households for Change

To unlock the potential of households in driving waste management transformation, several measures can be adopted:

  1. Education and Awareness Campaigns: Informing households about the benefits of waste separation, recycling, and composting can inspire behavioural change.
  2. Incentive Programs: Offering rewards, such as reduced waste collection fees or discounts on reusable items, can encourage participation.
  3. Infrastructure Development: Providing accessible waste collection points, sorting bins, and recycling centres can facilitate household efforts.
  4. Community Engagement: Involving households in participatory waste management programs fosters a sense of ownership and accountability.

By empowering households with the knowledge, tools, and support they need, GAMA can create a collective movement toward sustainable waste management. The active participation of households is not just a necessity—it is a game-changer in resetting the region’s waste management narrative. The journey to a cleaner and more sustainable GAMA begins at home.

4. SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIORAL CHANGE

While households play a critical role in addressing the waste management crisis in the GAMA, their ability to contribute meaningfully is hindered by systemic barriers. These challenges, deeply rooted in infrastructure, policy enforcement, cultural norms, and socio-economic factors, create significant obstacles to achieving the behavioural changes necessary for sustainable waste management.

Inadequate Waste Management Infrastructure

The lack of adequate infrastructure remains a primary barrier to effective household participation in waste management. Households often lack access to:

  1. Reliable Waste Collection Services: With only 75% of waste being collected in the GAMA, uncollected waste is often burned, buried, or illegally dumped into drains and open spaces, worsening environmental hazards.
  2. Sorting and Recycling Facilities: Limited availability of sorting bins and neighbourhood recycling centres discourages households from separating their waste at the source.
  3. Composting Systems: Biodegradable waste, which constitutes 54% of the total waste, could be converted into compost, but the absence of facilities and support mechanisms limits this potential.

Weak Enforcement of Regulations

The lack of stringent enforcement of waste management policies further undermines household efforts. Key issues include:

  1. Inconsistent Monitoring: Authorities often fail to enforce regulations that mandate proper waste disposal and discourage illegal dumping.
  2. Limited Accountability: Households and informal waste actors are not held accountable for improper practices, leading to complacency and unchecked pollution.
  3. Fragmented Governance: The absence of coordination among ministries, municipal authorities, private waste management providers, and informal actors creates inefficiencies in the system.

Cultural and Behavioral Norms

Deeply ingrained habits and cultural attitudes pose additional challenges to waste management:

  1. Resistance to Change: Many households are accustomed to unsustainable practices, such as burning or burying waste, and are reluctant to adopt new methods.
  2. Lack of Environmental Awareness: Limited understanding of the environmental and health impacts of poor waste disposal discourages proactive behaviour.
  3. Informal Waste Disposal Norms: The normalization of dumping waste in public spaces perpetuates a cycle of environmental degradation.

Economic Constraints

For many households, economic barriers make it difficult to prioritize sustainable waste management practices:

  1. Cost of Sustainable Alternatives: Reusable products, composting kits, and recycling programs often require upfront investments that low-income households cannot afford.
  2. Limited Incentives: The absence of financial or material rewards for households practising proper waste management reduces motivation.

Addressing the Barriers

Overcoming these systemic barriers requires a holistic approach that combines infrastructure development, policy reforms, and behavioural interventions:

  1. Infrastructure Investments: Governments and private stakeholders must prioritize the development of accessible waste collection, sorting, and recycling facilities.
  2. Strengthened Policy Enforcement: Municipalities must enforce penalties for improper waste disposal and provide incentives for households that comply with sustainable practices.
  3. Public Education Campaigns: Raising awareness about the environmental and economic benefits of sustainable waste management can drive behavioural change.
  4. Inclusive Waste Management Systems: Recognizing and integrating informal waste actors into the formal system can enhance efficiency and recycling rates.
  5. Financial Support for Households: Subsidies for reusable items and tax incentives for sustainable practices can alleviate economic constraints and encourage participation.

Systemic barriers must be addressed to empower households and unlock their potential as key agents of change in GAMA’s waste management system. By tackling these challenges, the region can pave the way for a sustainable and resilient urban environment.

5. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE RESET

To address the waste management crisis in the GAMA and empower households as key drivers of change, a multifaceted approach is required. This involves integrating behavioural interventions at the household level with systemic support from policymakers, private stakeholders, and civil society. A sustainable reset must leverage infrastructure improvements, enforceable regulations, and participatory strategies to achieve a circular economy where waste is treated as a resource.

Participatory Interventions to Empower Households

  1. Public Education and Awareness Campaigns:
  1. Conduct mass sensitization programs to educate households on the benefits of waste sorting, recycling, and composting.
  2. Use schools, local community centres, and media platforms to promote pro-environmental behaviours.
  3. Highlight the connection between sustainable waste practices and improved public health, reduced flooding, and environmental conservation.
  4. Community-Driven Waste Management Initiatives:
  1. Establish local waste management committees to foster community participation and accountability.
  2. Encourage neighbourhood waste sorting and recycling programs with clear guidelines and accessible collection points.
  3. Recognize and reward communities that demonstrate exceptional waste management practices.
  4. Behavioural Incentives:
  1. Implement incentive programs, such as discounts on waste collection fees or vouchers for recycled materials, to motivate households.
  2. Introduce deposit-refund schemes for items like plastic bottles and glass containers to encourage recycling.

Infrastructure Development and Systemic Support

  1. Accessible Waste Collection Points:
  1. Invest in strategically located waste collection points to ensure that households have convenient access to disposal facilities.
  2. Provide colour-coded bins for biodegradables, plastics, and other recyclables to facilitate waste separation at the source.
  3. Recycling and Composting Facilities:
  1. Develop regional recycling plants and composting centres to process collected materials efficiently.
  2. Establish partnerships with private waste management companies to enhance recycling capacity and expand coverage.
  3. Integration of Informal Waste Actors:
  1. Recognize the contributions of informal waste pickers and recyclers by integrating them into the formal system.
  2. Provide training, protective equipment, and fair compensation to enhance their effectiveness and safety.

Policy Reforms and Enforcement

  1. Stronger Waste Management Regulations:
  1. Enact and enforce policies that mandate household waste sorting and penalize illegal dumping.
  2. Develop and implement standards for sustainable waste disposal and recycling practices.
  3. Public-Private Partnerships:
  1. Foster collaboration between municipal authorities, private companies, and non-governmental organizations to pool resources and expertise.
  2. Promote innovative business models, such as waste-to-energy initiatives, to transform waste into a valuable resource.
  3. Monitoring and Accountability:
  1. Establish monitoring mechanisms to track compliance with waste management policies.
  2. Publish regular reports on waste management performance to ensure transparency and accountability.

Leveraging Circular Economy Principles

  1. Turning Waste into Resources:
  1. Promote the reuse of materials such as plastics, metals, and glass to reduce dependence on raw materials.
  2. Encourage the production and consumption of goods made from recycled materials.
  3. Economic Incentives for Households and Businesses:
  1. Provide subsidies for households adopting sustainable practices, such as purchasing composting kits or reusable items.
  2. Offer tax incentives to businesses that invest in recycling infrastructure or produce eco-friendly products.
  3. Promoting Innovation:
  1. Support research and development in waste management technologies, including waste-to-energy systems and biodegradable materials.
  2. Encourage startups and social enterprises to create innovative solutions for waste management challenges.

A sustainable reset of GAMA’s waste management system requires collaboration among households, government, private sector actors, and civil society. By combining behavioural change with systemic support, the region can transition to a circular economy and address its waste crisis. Every stakeholder has a role to play in creating a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable urban environment.

The time to act is now. A transformed GAMA starts with empowered households and a collective commitment to sustainable practices. Together, we can rewrite the narrative of waste management in Ghana.

6. Call to action

The waste management crisis in GAMA is a reflection of systemic challenges and individual behaviours that demand immediate and collective action. Addressing this crisis requires the collaboration of households, governments, private stakeholders, and civil society, each playing a pivotal role in driving change.

Households: The Foundation of Transformation: Households hold the key to sustainable waste management. By taking simple yet impactful steps such as sorting waste at the source, reducing single-use plastics, and participating in community recycling programs, they can significantly reduce environmental and public health risks. These actions go beyond waste reduction—they represent a commitment to fostering responsibility, accountability, and respect for the environment.

Government and Policy Makers: Enablers of Change: Policymakers must create an environment that empowers action. This includes:

  • Enforcing policies that mandate waste sorting and penalize illegal dumping.
  • Investing in accessible waste collection and recycling infrastructure.
  • Offering subsidies and incentives to encourage sustainable practices among households and businesses.

The GARID Project exemplifies the type of targeted initiative needed to address these challenges. Focused on improving flood risk and solid waste management within the Odaw River Basin, GARID highlights the importance of combining infrastructure development with social and environmental objectives. By scaling similar programs and ensuring their effective implementation, policymakers can create sustainable frameworks to transform waste management in GAMA.

Private Sector and Civil Society: Innovators and Collaborators: The private sector and civil society organizations play an essential role in scaling solutions. Through partnerships, they can develop recycling plants, waste-to-energy initiatives, and community-led waste programs. Social enterprises and innovative models can drive resource recovery while creating green jobs, fostering economic growth, and inspiring widespread participation.

The Urgency to Act: Delaying action on GAMA’s waste crisis risks further environmental degradation, public health threats, and economic losses. With over 80% of the region’s waste recoverable, the potential for transformative change is undeniable. Transitioning to a circular economy, where waste is reimagined as a valuable resource, provides a unique opportunity to redefine sustainability in Ghana.

A Shared Responsibility: The reset of GAMA’s waste management system depends on the collective commitment of all stakeholders. Every individual, community, and institution has a role to play in reshaping the region’s waste narrative. By adopting sustainable practices and implementing systemic reforms, stakeholders can set a new benchmark for urban waste management in Ghana and beyond.

The opportunity for change is clear, and the time for action is now. Programs like the GARID Project offer a blueprint for what is possible when collective effort meets visionary policy and grassroots participation. Together, GAMA can transition to a cleaner, more resilient, and sustainable future. The question is not whether change is possible, but whether we are ready to rise to the challenge. Let us act today to secure the future of GAMA and the generations to come.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.