Accra is on the brink of a major public health crisis, with all landfill sites in the city now at full capacity, according to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
The warning came during a recent visit by the Parliamentary Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources to various assemblies in the Greater Accra Region.
Engineer Solomon Noi, the Director of Waste Management at AMA, outlined the growing concern, pointing to the lack of engineered landfill sites and insufficient waste management infrastructure as key contributors to the city’s waste disposal challenges.
He revealed that Accra’s waste management system has been strained due to the limited availability of suitable landfill sites, with the Kpone site being the only engineered location currently in use, and plans for a new site in Ayidan still in consideration.
The situation is exacerbated by improper waste management practices, with unengineered dumpsites that leak harmful leachates into rivers and nearby areas, putting the city’s water sources and population at risk.
“These sites are not engineered, so when it rains, leachate seeps into rivers and depressions, ultimately returning to the city,” Engineer Noi warned.
Mr. Noi also highlighted the significant health risks associated with improperly managed medical and sanitary waste. Much of the hazardous waste from hospitals and healthcare facilities ends up in the general waste stream, mingling with other garbage. Waste pickers, many of whom are migrants from neighboring countries, further exacerbate the spread of diseases like cholera and typhoid.
To avert the looming crisis, Mr. Noi called for the construction of a state-of-the-art intermediate waste treatment facility, including an incineration plant for non-recyclables like baby diapers, sanitary pads, and healthcare waste.
“Pathogens would be eradicated in the furnace before the waste is sent to a landfill, helping to break the cycle of disease transmission,” he emphasized.
With the city’s waste management system stretched to its limits, the AMA and experts are urging swift government action to prevent an outbreak of preventable diseases and safeguard public health.
