Indiscriminate open space solid waste dumping behaviour of householders in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana: a political economy analysis

Figures & data

Table 1. Methods of solid waste disposal in households by region and locality type

Method of rubbish disposal	All regions (2010)	Urban	Rural	Western	Central	Greater Accra	Volta	Eastern	Ashanti	Brong-Ahafo	Northern	Upper East	Upper West
Collected	14.4	22.1	4.6	8.2	3.9	48.5	6.1	4.1	9.1	2.9	6.2	11.1	4.6
Burned by household	10.7	10.2	11.4	5.8	13.4	13.0	15.9	16.2	5.3	4.4	10.9	25.0	5.9
Public dump (container)	23.8	38.7	4.9	21.1	18.7	25.7	16.6	22.8	35.4	23.9	14.8	7.9	12.7
Public dump (open space)	37.7	22.7	56.6	50.6	53.8	8.4	41.3	40.0	41.9	53.3	38.7	31.2	36.8
Dumped indiscriminately	9.1	3.1	16.7	9.7	5.4	2.1	13.7	10.0	4.9	11.9	26.4	14.6	36.0
Buried by household	3.3	2.3	4.6	3.5	3.4	1.4	5.2	5.9	2.7	3.1	2.2	6.9	3.2
Other	1.0	0.8	1.2	0.9	1.5	0.9	1.2	1.0	0.7	0.6	0.8	3.3	0.8
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Source: Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) (2013)

Table 2. Summary of socio-economic characteristics of respondents based on frequency analysis

Socio-Economic Characteristic of Household Head	Percentage
Sex of Household Head
Male	63.25
Female	36.75
Marital Status of Household Head
Single (Never Married)	13.19
Currently Married (Monogamous Relationship)	62.82
De-facto or Informal Relationships	7.69
Separated	2.93
Divorced	5.13
Widowed	8.24
Level of Formal Educational Attainment of Household Head
None/No Schooling	63.28
Completed junior secondary school or its equivalent (Middle School)	26.10
Completed senior secondary school	6.10
Completed post-secondary colleges or institutions	3.22
Completed university	1.15
Others	0.23
Religious Affiliation of Household Head (Percentage of Respondents)
Adherents of Traditional African Religions	4.20
Atheists or Agnostics	4.94
Christians (Roman Catholic)	16.27
Christian Protestant (Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian)	22.49
Christian Pentecostal or Charismatic	22.30
Other Christians	3.11
Muslims	26.32
Others	0.37
Ethnic Origin of Household Head (Broad Ethnic Groups)
Akan	36.2
Dangme/Ga	2.4
Ewe	11.7
Guan	14.1
Grusi	3.1
Gurma	16.8
Mole-Dagbani	7.3
Mande	2.7
All Other Groups Originating from Outside Ghana	5.7

Table 3. Characteristics of the dwellings of the survey households based on frequency analysis using percentages for specified groups

Characteristic of the Dwelling of the Household	Percentage
Quality State of the Dwelling
In Excellent Condition; Without Need for Repair	7.17
In Good Condition; Some Minor Wear and Tear	22.61
In Moderately-Good Condition: Needs Some Repair	39.52
In Poor Damage With Considerable Damage	25.37
In Very Bad Shape	5.33
Type of Toilet Facilities Available in the Dwelling
Flush toilet (WC)	2.01
Pit Latrine	17.77
KVIP	14.47
Public toilet (flush/bucket/KVIP)	17.77
Toilet facility in another house	1.28
No toilet facility (bush, beach)	46.70
Main Source of Water for General Use
Piped into dwelling	3.11
Piped into plot/yard	2.01
Public tap (someone else’s private tap)	13.89
Tube well/borehole	35.83
Protected dug well	11.33
Rain water collection	0.37
Unprotected dug well/springs	2.56
River/ponds/streams	30.71
Others	0.18
Access to Electricity Connection to Household
Yes	42.78
No	57.22
Main Method of Disposal of Solid Wastes
Collected by local authority	2.01
Collected by private firm	0.18
Own garbage pit or heap	10.42
Own burned or buried	5.12
Public dumps or disposal sites including containers	46.62
Dumped in vacant land/property	34.55
Dumped in river, lake or sea	0.55
Others	0.55

Table 4. Summary of socio-economic characteristics presented as mean and range values of the survey respondents from the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana

Item	Mean	Range
Age of the Household Head (Years)	45.47	18 to 95
Household Size	4.29	1 to 13
Highest Level of Formal Educational Level Attained of the Household Head (Years of Schooling)	2.19	1 to 17
Number of Rooms Available in the Household	2.86	1 to 15
Number of Sleeping Rooms Used by Household	2.43	0 to 15
Housing Rents Paid (Ghana Cedis Per Month)	6.89	0 to 200

Table 5. Probit regression model analysis results of factors influencing the likelihood of a household openly dumping its solid wastes into the natural environments or indiscriminately. dependent variable is OPENDUMPING

Explanatory Variable	Regression Parameter Estimate	Student t value	Probability Level of Significance
CONSTANT	−1.345	−5.850	0.000***
LARGEHHSIZE	0.217	1.684	0.092*
NOSCHOOLING	0.550	3.465	0.001***
OPENDEFECATION	0.912	7.127	0.000***
WATERINSIDEHOUSE	−0.665	−1.638	0.101
ELECTRICITYINSIDEHOUSE	0.339	2.303	0.021**
LSLEEPINGROOMS	−0.300	−3.113	0.002***
LHOUSINGCOSTS	−0.045	−2.588	0.022**
URBANRURAL	−0.550	−3.107	0.002***
GUAN	−0.655	−3.128	0.002***
GUAN*URBANRURAL	0.860	2.009	0.044**

Notes

R² was 0.196***

The percentage of correct predictions was 0.724

Percentage engaged in open dumping activities was 35.7%

* denotes statistical significance of the parameter at the 10% level.

** denotes statistical significance of the parameter at the 5% level.

*** denotes statistical significance of the parameter at the 1% level.

Table 6. Summary of open dumping behaviour of guans versus the overall sample of the survey respondents from the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana based on means and standard deviations

Item	Mean (%)	Standard Deviation
Proportion of All Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	35.10	47.77
Proportion of All Urban Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	22.03	41.57
Proportion of All Rural Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	41.35	49.31
Proportion of Guan Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	24.68	43.40
Proportion of Urban Guan Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	40.00	50.71
Proportion of Rural Guan Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	20.79	41.04
Proportion of Non-Guan Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	36.81	48.28
Proportion of Urban Non-Guan Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	20.37	40.40
Proportion of Rural Non-Guan Households Engaged in Open Dumping of Solid Wastes	45.45	49.87

Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). (2013). 2010 national population and housing census: Analytical report. GSS.

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