Waste disposable methods and challenges among households in selected communities within the Kumasi metropolis
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Date
November, 2019
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Abstract
Background: Poor waste management remains a major obstacle to many developing
countries including Ghana. One of the major environmental problems in Kumasi Metropolis
is poor waste management which impede one‟s health. Waste management Department of the
Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and Zoomlion Ghana Limited are usually responsible for
waste management in the Metropolis but have challenges to provide an effective and efficient
services to the households due insufficient funding and with this, households face many
challenges when disposal of waste. It is therefore indisputable the fact that for households to
safeguard, control and promote the environment there must be some facilities responsible for
waste management.
Objectives: To assess waste disposable methods and challenges among households in
selected communities within the Kumasi Metropolis.
Methods: Case study design and Cross-sectional design was adopted for this study. The
sample size of 308 households was estimated for collection of quantitative and qualitative
data for this study.
Results: All respondents in the three selected communities used house-to-house solid waste
collection as their major method of waste disposal as compare to the use of central communal
containers. It was recorded that over 70% of the households used house-to-house method of
waste collection with less than 30% of the households using central communal containers as a
means of disposing their waste due to limited disposing facilities. 78% Households in the
selected communities revealed the challenges they faced which includes delay in waste
collection, absence of sensitization of the public on issues of management of solid waste,
inadequate refuse containers, lack of households‟ awareness on reducing, recycling and
sorting of waste, poor attitude of households towards waste handling and ineffective waste
management laws. Also over 50% of the respondents bemoaned that the fees charge for
disposal of waste was high.
Conclusion: The preference of house-to-house solid waste collection to the use of central
communal containers as a means of disposing waste was attributed to the fact that house-tohouse waste collectors are experts. Again the patronage of house-to-house service to central
communal containers waste collection by households was due to the same amount charge for
disposing of waste on daily basis. Moreover, there was a lot of pressure on the central
communal containers whidh has lead to improper waste disposal. This confirms the
difficulties households face in attempt to dispose of waste.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Health Education, Promotion and Disability, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Education
Keywords
Waste disposable, Challenges, Households, Kumasi