Assessing solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality of Ghana and the potential of recycling for revenue mobilization and reduction of waste menace

Abstract

There is increased municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in most municipalities across the globe. This study assessed the recycling potential and contribution of the informal sector to waste management in the Techiman municipality of Ghana. MSW was collected from 400 households for 10 continuous days and characterised. On average, 3.2 kg and 0.8 kg of MSW are generated per household and per person per day, respectively. The fractions of MSW were found to be 66.5% organics, 19.2% plastics, 3.3% paper, 3.2% metals, 1.6% leather and plastics, 0.9% glass, 0.6% textiles, 2.7% inert and 1.9% miscellaneous. Recycling potential for the Techiman municipality was found to be 29%, which means 29% of the respondents informally engage in recycling activities. The study also revealed that 33% of the respondents engage the services of the informal sector to dispose of their waste. Thirty-seven per cent (37%) of the respondents in the municipality dispose of their generated waste at various open designated sites, while 31% use public waste containers. The study further established that, incentives such as improved sanitation and financial rewards, free waste bins, among others, would greatly improve waste management. Also, formalisation and regulation of activities of the informal waste collectors can increase recycling and waste collection in the municipality.

Keywords:

• Informal waste collectors
• recycling
• waste management
• waste menace

1. Introduction

In developing countries, the collection and handling of waste leave much to be desired. Huge methane emissions and leachate production are key issues downgrading the sustainability of the environment. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that about 3% of the global emissions can be traced from the waste sector (Gautam & Agrawal, 2021). Aside the enormous emissions, the health and economic impact of waste are affecting sustainable development in these developing countries. About 20% to 50% of the budget allocation of most city authorities is used for solid waste management in Africa (Sulemana et al., 2018). Considering the rapid increase in population and the resurgence of industrialization, which are major accelerators of solid waste generation across the globe, the current bone of contention is a holistic review of the gains from solid waste. Abalo et al. (2018) revealed that through appropriate technologies and methods, solid waste has the potential of providing energy, generating resources and income. In the light of the foregoing, the current study was designed to unearth the potential of recycling and other proper waste management practices in the Techiman municipality, which will help reduce the huge volumes of waste, safeguard the environment and guide environmental policy planning for the municipality.

It is sad to note that in 2018, 2.01 billion tons of solid waste was generated across the globe with only 13.5% of that recycled and about 33% of it poorly managed in most developing countries, either by open dumping, burning or disposal at uncontrolled landfills (Kaza et al., 2018). Aside the low recycling of waste, waste collection coverage is low for most developing countries. The collection rate is about 51% for lower middle-income countries and 39% for low-income countries (Yadav & Samadder, 2017). In developed countries, waste is predominantly disposed of at well-planned and engineered landfill sites. In contrast, for sub-Saharan Africa, about 69% of waste is disposed of by open dumping and burning, 24% by landfill and 7% recycled or recovered (Kaza et al., 2018).

The persistent effort to realize effective waste management has necessitated the urgent call for a paradigm shift to a circular economy, where none of the generated waste is left untouched but utilized for a purpose; either as a material for production, recycled or converted to a more useful form of energy (Bucknall, 2020). For instance, the European Commission in its quest to eliminate waste has set up targets for waste reuse and recycling. These include a minimum of 65% reuse and recycling target by 2030 and a 75% target for packaging waste by 2030 (Chen et al., 2020). Nevertheless, recycling rates in most developing countries remain considerably low, between 8% and 11%, despite huge recycling potentials (Kumar & Samadder, 2017).

One of the key hindrances to waste recycling and effective waste management in developing countries is the lack of source separation of waste. In developed countries, organized groups and interventions from various stakeholders have been used to realize the advantage of source separation and effective recycling activities (Oduro-Kwarteng et al., 2016). However, in developing countries, waste segregation is not generally practised due to factors such as high cost, lack of organized systems and structures for the sorted waste, inadequate education on the relevance of source separation and neglect of the informal sector.

Generally, municipal solid waste in Ghana is dominated by organics and plastics with varying percentage compositions of paper, metals and glass, among other components across the various geographic and economic zones in the country (Miezah et al., 2015). Even though the composition of waste in the country offers a great potential for recycling and energy generation, most of the generated waste is disposed of in open dumpsites or burned, with few quantities collected and sent to landfills or recycled. A study conducted by Oduro-Appiah et al. (2019) revealed that only about 5% of the municipal solid waste generated in Accra is recycled. According to Appeaning Addo et al. (2020), lack of community awareness, lack of effective collection regime, lack of segregation and recycling systems and limited disposal sites tend to hamper effective waste management in Ghana.

Waste collected in most municipalities in developing countries is less than 30%, which means there is indiscriminate dumping and burning of uncollected waste in most cases (Cogut, 2016). In the Techiman municipality, most of the generated waste is left uncollected. Baffour-Mensah (2018) and Appeaning Addo et al. (2020) reported that only 21% of the solid waste generated in the Techiman municipality was collected. Several heaps of uncollected wastes were found in the centres of most of the study communities. This negatively affects the health of the residents and impacts negatively on the sustainability of the environment. Residents close to dumpsites reported increased outbreak of various diseases, which results from the consistent exposure to waste. Similar findings were obtained in the study conducted by Appeaning Addo et al. (2020), which revealed that close to 80% of waste generated in the Techiman municipality was left uncollected. This was attributed to lack of private sector involvement in waste collection, disregard for by-laws, inadequate logistics in the municipality and lack of source separation and recycling. However, these studies failed to assess the recycling potential (i.e. quantity of materials available for diversion and subsequent marketing to material processors and end users) of the Techiman municipality and the role of the informal sector. Those studies did not examine the solid waste management practices in the municipality either.

This study, therefore, sought to assess the recycling potential of municipal solid waste generated in the Techiman municipality and the contribution of the informal sector to waste management in the municipality. Also, individuals’ motivations (both intrinsic and extrinsic) in waste management are discussed while highlighting some possible revenue streams from waste management in the municipality.

2. Literature review

Municipal solid waste generation levels are high for most municipalities due to increasing population and high rate of urbanization and industrialization, but effective waste management remains a major setback for most developing countries, including Ghana. Major aspects of waste management include waste collection, waste disposal and utilization of waste. Waste segregation, effective waste collection, appropriate handling and disposal methods are lacking in almost all administrative regions in Ghana (Douti et al., 2017). In the Techiman municipality, about 80% of waste is left uncollected (Appeaning Addo et al., 2020)

Effective waste management programmes should involve key players from both the public and private sectors to make the activity technically feasible, financially sustainable, socially and legally accepted and environmentally friendly (Luttenberger, 2020). It is disheartening to know that Zoom lion remains the only private waste collection company in the Techiman municipality. Also, the informal sector that could have augmented the efforts of the company is still not formally incorporated in the waste management chain, resulting in irregular collection regimes and several heaps of uncollected waste. Negative impacts of waste on the environment are alarming and various stakeholders are developing new strategies in order to sustain its increasing levels.

It is critical to note that most waste generated is traced to consumer attitudes. Most consumers tend to make impulse purchases, which render products useless (Chauhan et al., 2021). A key aspect to address the menace is the adoption of the circular economy approach where most of the waste generated is utilized for a particular purpose. This approach requires the use of organized systems from generation, assembling to the utilization point (Ikhlayel, 2018). Logistics such as household bins and skip containers are vital for effective roll out of effective utilization of waste (Ikhlayel, 2018), but these are inadequate in the Techiman municipality.

Also, waste utilization methods (such as reuse, recycling and energy recovery) are not highly prioritised in most low- and middle-income countries, including Ghana. Reuse and recycling are seen as viable options to the increasing levels of waste to safeguard the environment and its inhabitants. Products from recycled materials produce less emissions to the environment thereby contributing to the global emission reductions pursuit. A study conducted by Weber Macena et al. (2021) revealed that recycled metals and glass are safe for packaging as microorganisms are killed in the event of melting to form the new products and also all organic contaminants are pyrolyzed during the heating process. Recyclable materials traded in the Techiman municipality such as metals, plastics and paper are done by the informal sector. Formalization of their activities is deemed necessary for drastic reduction of waste in the municipality. Besides, the few recycling companies in the municipality are privately owned, making large-scale recycling a challenge. The influx of more of these companies and support from government and other key stakeholders will be substantial in addressing this menace.

Another avenue to reduce the quantity of waste in our cities is through energy recovery. However, only a few developing countries like China and India are making headways in energy recovery from waste (Nejat et al., 2015). In Ghana, the McDavid Green Solutions (MDGS) in Dawa, Greater Accra region, the Armech thermal power station waste-to-energy plant in Tema, the German Government funded waste to energy power plant in Atwima Nwabiagya in the Ashanti region are, but a few waste to energy projects in Ghana (Agbejule et al., 2021a). The Government of Ghana, together with relevant stakeholders, are working hard on putting up several of these projects to help reduce the rising levels of waste. Production of energy from waste is a win–win venture as it helps to reduce the quantity of waste, ensure energy security and reduce global emissions (Wahlroos et al., 2018).

A graphical representation of the literature review is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Conceptual framework for waste management (Source: Authors’ own compilation).

3. Materials and methods

3.1. Description of the study area

Techiman municipality is located in the Bono East region of Ghana. The municipality lies between longitude 1°49’ East and 2°30’ West and 8°00 North 7°35’ South. It shares boundaries with four districts, namely; Techiman north, Wenchi, Nkoranza municipality and Offinso north in the Ashanti region. It is one of the most populated municipalities in the country with an estimated population of 243,335 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2021). The map of the municipality is shown in Figure 2. The total land surface area of the Techiman municipality is 639 km², giving it a population density of 380.8 persons per km². The municipality lies within the forest belt of Ghana, with an appreciable rainfall pattern lasting for not less than 4 months, and has a mean annual rainfall ranging between 1260 mm and 1660 mm.

Figure 2. A map of the Techiman municipality showing the communities where the studies were conducted.

The municipality has one of the biggest foodstuff markets in West Africa that attracts traders from Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso (Appeaning Addo et al., 2020). Activities at the market contribute to the high quantities of waste generated in the municipality. Agricultural activities form a major occupational activity in the municipality, with cashew being the major cash crop cultivated by residents of the municipality. Annual and perennial crops such as cassava, yam, cocoyam, maize and plantain, among others are cultivated on varying scales (from 2 ha to over 10 ha) in the municipality. Agriculture offers employment to about 36% of the active population in the Techiman municipality (Rabiatu & Elijah, 2010).

The average household size of the Techiman municipality is estimated at 3.6 with 90.6% and 57.3% of the households in the urban and rural areas, respectively, having access to electricity (Baffour-Mensah, 2018). Most of the solid waste generated in the municipality is openly dumped, with house-to-house collection done mostly in the capital of the municipality, Techiman. Some of the households in the suburbs dispose of their waste in public waste containers, which are collected and transported to municipal dumpsites.

3.2. Methods of data collection

3.2.1. Sample technique and sample size determination

Stratified random sampling was used in the selection of households under three socioeconomic classifications: first-class, second-class and third-class residential settlements using the Techiman Municipal Assembly’s classification model. Based on this model, classification of the settlements is done depending on the type of buildings, road network and social amenities at the settlement. The first-class residential settlements have better amenities and infrastructure and are more affluent than the second and third-class areas, and the second is also better served and more affluent than that of the third class. The third-class settlement is considered a place where the less privileged, with less amenities live. Stratification of households was necessary to assess the influence of residential status on waste generation and other waste management services such as house-to-house collection. The method was been deployed by Miezah et al. (2015) and Lunag et al. (2019) in their waste characterisation studies. According to Ghana Statistical Service (2021), the Techiman municipality has a total of 66,991 households with an average household size of 3.6. The sample size for the study was estimated using Equation 1(1) $n=N/\left(1+N{e}^2\right)\hspace{0.17em}$(1) , adopted from the works of Lunag et al. (2019) and Ayamga et al. (2015):

(1) $n=N/\left(1+N{e}^2\right)\hspace{0.17em}$(1)

where n = sample size of households, N = total number of households and e = allowable error margin. A 5% error margin was allowed to improve the accuracy of the results obtained from the study.

Given the total number of households (N) in the Techiman municipality to be 66,991 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2021) and a 5% margin of error (e), the minimum sample size (n) will be 398, which was rounded up to 400 and used for the study. The samples were taken from the first-class, second-class and third-class settlements for analysis.

3.2.2. Interviews and questionnaires

Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the households, opinion leaders, Assembly members, Zoomlion Company Ltd (a leading waste management company in Ghana) and traditional rulers. The methods deployed in the primary data collection included in-depth interviews and administration of structured questionnaires within the Techiman municipality. For the household interviews, the head of each household responded to the questionnaires. Secondary data was gathered from relevant materials such as books, published articles, grey literature (such as policy documents and technical reports) and other online resources. Interviews were done to obtain qualitative data on the general waste management perception and practices and other key policy interventions and regulatory structures in addressing waste menace in the municipality. Well-structured questionnaires were used to obtain statistical data on respondents’ experiences on solid waste management as well as to identify waste management challenges in the municipality. The confidentiality of all respondents was duly observed and respondents were purposively sampled to obtain a broader spectrum of the waste management situation in the Techiman municipality.

3.2.3. Weighing and sorting of waste

Household generated waste was collected with plastic bags on a daily basis for a 10-day period. The collected waste was transported with tricycles to a communal waste container site for sorting. Coning and quartering techniques used by Gyimah Yaw Agyei (2020) and Yusoff et al. (2018) were adopted to sort the waste collected. First, the sample was divided into four segments, and the two diagonally opposite sections were removed and the remaining mixed together. The process is repeated until a representative fraction of about 50 kg is left for sorting.

The waste was sorted into sub-fractions and analysed by their weights and percentage fractions as prescribed by Pichtel et al. (2005) and ASTM (2008). The waste was sorted into different fractions, namely, organics, papers, plastics, metals, glass, rubber and leather, textiles, inert and miscellaneous.

The percentage fraction of components and the per capita waste generation were estimated using equations 2(2) $\mathrm{\text{Percentage}}\mathrm{\text{fraction}}=\frac{\mathrm{\text{weight}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{the}}\mathrm{\text{separated}}\mathrm{\text{sample}}}{\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{weight}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{the}}\mathrm{\text{mixed}}\mathrm{\text{sample}}}\times 100\hspace{0.17em}$(2) and 3(3) $\mathrm{\text{Per}}\mathrm{\text{capita}}\mathrm{\text{waste}}\mathrm{\text{generation}}=\hspace{0.17em}\frac{\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{weight}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{household}}\mathrm{\text{waste}}}{\left(\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{number}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{people}}\mathrm{\text{in}}\mathrm{\text{the}}\mathrm{\text{household}}\right)\times \left(\mathrm{\text{number}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{generation}}\mathrm{\text{days}}\right)\hspace{0.17em}}\hspace{0.17em}$(3) , respectively.

(2) $\mathrm{\text{Percentage}}\mathrm{\text{fraction}}=\frac{\mathrm{\text{weight}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{the}}\mathrm{\text{separated}}\mathrm{\text{sample}}}{\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{weight}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{the}}\mathrm{\text{mixed}}\mathrm{\text{sample}}}\times 100\hspace{0.17em}$(2)

(3) $\mathrm{\text{Per}}\mathrm{\text{capita}}\mathrm{\text{waste}}\mathrm{\text{generation}}=\hspace{0.17em}\frac{\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{weight}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{household}}\mathrm{\text{waste}}}{\left(\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{number}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{people}}\mathrm{\text{in}}\mathrm{\text{the}}\mathrm{\text{household}}\right)\times \left(\mathrm{\text{number}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{generation}}\mathrm{\text{days}}\right)\hspace{0.17em}}\hspace{0.17em}$(3)

3.3. Statistical analysis

The data obtained from the study were analysed with the International Business Machines Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) and Microsoft Excel to assess the influence of socioeconomic factors and household population on generation rate and recycling potential. These softwares aid in systematic entry of data and also help in identifying trends and developing predictive models to draw informed conclusions. The mean, mode and range descriptive statistical data were used for analysing continuous variables such as weight of generated waste, while percentages were used in analysing categorical variables such as age, sex, educational level and so on. Tables and charts developed from this software were used to illustrate the results obtained from the study. These softwares have been used to analyse data obtained from field surveys in the works of Lunag et al. (2019) and Gyimah Yaw Agyei (2020).

3.4. Societal benefits

The social benefits from waste collection and management in the Techiman municipality were studied in this research by analysing the recycling benefits and revenues that accrue from waste collection to disposal value chain.

A graphical representation of the methodology used for this study is presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Graphical presentation of the methodology.

4. Results and discussion

The adoption of a circular economy is an appropriate step towards reduction of waste in the Techiman municipality. This requires knowledge on the waste composition and recycling potentials as well as evaluation of the waste management practices in the municipality. However, this will be difficult to realize without effective cooperation from the informal waste collectors. This is because most of the recycling activities in the Techiman municipality are done by the informal sector workers and private individuals with the aim of generating income. In most cases, materials such as plastics, metallic waste and used papers are collected for recycling. In an interview with some of the informal waste collectors, the recycling activity is their main source of livelihood.

Recyclable materials picked or purchased from the residents are traded with private businesses in and around the municipality who recycle these materials into plastic chairs, iron rods, cooking utensils, among others. Aside the economic gains, recycling reduces the quantity of waste to be disposed of, which in turn prevents indiscriminate dumping and burning of waste. Again, this study has revealed the need for the provisions of systems and structures to roll out source separation, as most residents are willing to engage in this act but for the cost involved. Irregular collection regimes, lack of private sector involvement, lack of skip containers, and regular breakdown of vehicles, among others were identified as the main contributing factors for the several heaps of refuse in the centres of most of the suburbs of the Techiman municipality.

4.1. Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents

Out of the 400 respondents (i.e. 400 household heads), 36% (n = 144) were males and 64% (n = 256) were females. In Ghana, waste generation, collection and disposal in most households are predominantly done by women (Adzawla et al. 2019). The modal age of the respondents was 19–39 years with 59% of the respondents within this age group as shown in Table 1. The majority of the respondents, representing 59.3% were married and 29.7% (n = 119) had attained senior higher education.

Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents

Variable	Frequency (N = 400)	Percentage (%)
Sex
Male	144	36
Female	256	64
Age in years
0–18	22	5.5
19–39	236	59.0
40–69	101	25.3
70 and above	41	10.2
Marital status
Married	237	59.3
Single	163	40.8
Level of education
Never schooled	85	21.3
Primary education	38	9.5
JHS	112	27.9
SHS	1119	29.7
Degree	45	11.2
Post graduate	1	0.2

Table 2 presents the household characteristics of the Techiman municipality. Most of the households, 47.5% (n = 190) had a household population of between 2 and 5. This is in line with the estimation by the Ghana Statistical Service of the average household size of the municipality to be 3.6 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2021). Findings, as stated in Table 2, also indicate that 86.3% of the respondents satisfy their hunger needs by cooking, 60% of the respondents were unemployed with most of this group engaged in trading and other forms of life sustaining activities.

Table 2. Household characteristics of residents

Variable	Frequency (N = 400)	Percentage (%)
Number of people in the household
1	21	5.3
2–5	190	47.5
6–10	161	40.2
10 and above	28	7.0
How do you satisfy your hunger needs?
By cooking	346	86.5
Buying from vendors	54	13.5
Employment status
Employed	160	40.0
Unemployed	240	60.0

4.2. Solid waste situation in the municipality

4.2.1. Composition of solid waste

Waste generated in the households of the Techiman municipality was dominated with organics and plastics with a mean generation rate of 32.9 kg and 9.5 kg, respectively, per day as illustrated in Table 3. The percentage fraction from the study is illustrated in Figure 4. From Figure 4, 66.5% of the waste generated was organics, 19.2% was plastics, 3.3% was paper, 0.9% was glass, 3.2% was metals, 1.6% was leather and rubber, 0.6% was textiles, 1.9% was miscellaneous and 2.7% was inert. The results obtained are consistent with the works of Miezah et al. (2015). The fractions obtained can be attributed to the consistent agricultural activities in the municipality and the vibrant foodstuff market in the Techiman municipality. Packaging of food items and other household necessities contributes largely to the growing increase in plastic and paper waste in the municipality. The observed pattern is similar to the results of the study conducted by Gyimah Yaw Agyei (2020) on the characteristics of waste in the township of Techiman. Other recyclable fractions of waste in the municipality were found to be metals and glass.

Figure 4. Percentage fraction of municipal solid waste in the Techiman municipality.

Table 3. Composition of municipal solid waste in the Techiman municipality (kg)

	Organics	Plastics	Paper	Glass	Metals	Leather and Rubber	Textiles	Miscellaneous	Inert
Mean	32.8820	9.5070	1.6470	0.4570	1.6060	0.7770	0.3030	0.9340	1.3170
Median	32.8550	9.5200	1.6800	0.4550	1.6750	0.8650	0.2950	0.9050	1.2750
Mode	32.00^a	9.23	1.09^a	0.00	1.05	0.93	0.00^a	0.52^a	1.43
Range	2.00	2.55	1.25	0.98	1.09	0.66	0.58	1.40	0.69
Minimum	32.00	8.12	1.09	0.00	1.05	0.32	0.00	0.52	1.01
Maximum	34.00	10.67	2.34	0.98	2.14	0.98	0.58	1.92	1.70

^{Note: a}the smallest modal values

Across the socio-economic classes, mean generation rates of organic constituents were highest among all the different residential classes. This evidence affirms the assertion from many researchers that cooking of unprocessed foodstuffs is predominant in households of many developing countries generating high quantities of organic waste (Seshie et al., 2020). From the analysis, about 86.5% of the households satisfy their hunger needs by cooking of unprocessed foodstuffs. Nevertheless, plastics were the most waste for the first-class residential areas with a mean generation rate of 15.4 kg per day. This is attributed mainly to the consumption pattern of household residents within the various municipalities across the globe. First-class households mostly prefer packaged and canned foods compared to third-class households who normally depend on cooked foods at home.

4.2.2. Waste generation rate

From the study of the 400 households in the Techiman municipality, the total generated waste summed up to 12,853.89 kg for the 10 days’ period. The total household population for 400 households was estimated to be 1,590 representing an average household population of 3.975, which is consistent with the average household size of 3.6 by Ghana Statistical Service (2021). Using equation 3(3) $\mathrm{\text{Per}}\mathrm{\text{capita}}\mathrm{\text{waste}}\mathrm{\text{generation}}=\hspace{0.17em}\frac{\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{weight}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{household}}\mathrm{\text{waste}}}{\left(\mathrm{\text{total}}\mathrm{\text{number}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{people}}\mathrm{\text{in}}\mathrm{\text{the}}\mathrm{\text{household}}\right)\times \left(\mathrm{\text{number}}\mathrm{\text{of}}\mathrm{\text{generation}}\mathrm{\text{days}}\right)\hspace{0.17em}}\hspace{0.17em}$(3) , the per capita generation rate of the Techiman municipality was estimated to be 0.8 kg per person per day. The per capita generation rate for the Techiman township was estimated to be 0.71 kg per person by Gyimah Yaw Agyei (2020). The mean generation rate per household of the municipality was estimated as 3.2 kg per household as illustrated in Table 4. The rapid increase in generation rate can be linked to the increasing level of population in the municipality owing to the robust trading activities and improved living standards of the populace. According to a study by Kaza et al. (2018) the total quantity of waste generated in low income and low middle-income countries is anticipated to increase by more than three times by 2050.

Table 4. Mean household population and household generation rate

	Mean	Standard. Deviation	N
Household average waste generation rate	3.2135	1.60968	400
Number of people living in a household	3.975	2.0136	400

The most critical issue is how to ensure effective management of waste by adopting the circular economy concepts to minimize the impacts of the alarming volumes of waste.

4.2.3. Solid waste management system

From the study, 50% of the respondents indicated that they had heard about solid waste management and 59.3% of the respondents were willing to pay for waste management services. About 37% of the respondents in the municipality dispose of their generated waste at various open designated sites, while 31% use the public waste containers as illustrated in Table 5. The result is in line with the regional analytical report by the Ghana Statistical Service in 2010 which indicated that nearly three—quarters of waste generated in households is disposed of either through public containers or open dumping sites.

Table 5. Solid waste management practices in the Techiman municipality

Variable	Frequency (N = 400)	Percentage (%)
Have you heard about solid waste management?
Yes	200	50
No	200	50
Where do you dispose your waste?
Household bin	117	29.3
Public waste container	124	31
Open dumping site	146	36.5
Burning	13	3.2
Are you willing to pay for waste management services?
Yes	237	59.3
No	163	40.7
How often is waste collected?
Daily	0	0
Weekly	0	0
Twice a week	22	5.5
Don’t know	378	94.5

Disposing of waste in public containers or at dumpsites has several effects on the health of the residents who reside close to these sites and also huge negative impacts on the environment including air, water and soil pollution, and emission of obnoxious gases, among others. Even though household bins were present in some selected houses (29.3% of the selected households), the residents of these households had to, at times, resort to open dumping. The cause of this observation was mainly due to irregular collection regime in the municipality. Some of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction on how waste could be left uncollected for many weeks, making life unpleasant for residents due to the odour and other health impacts. Many of the respondents (94.5%) could not identify the waste collection rate in the Techiman municipality although the head of the Environmental Unit of the Municipal Assembly and the Area Manager of the Zoomlion Company Limited indicated that generated waste was collected daily.

4.2.4. Source separation and solid waste recycling potential

The results showed that 68% of the respondents had knowledge about recycling of waste. Despite the knowledge on recycling, none of the selected households practised formal source separation as shown in Table 6. However, 79.5% of the respondents indicated their readiness to engage in waste segregation if proper structures and organized systems are put in place. Residents who were unwilling to engage in source separation mentioned the cost involved as the main challenge. Eighty-three per cent (83%) of the respondents agreed that incentives of various forms such as financial aid, bins distribution, sanitation awards, and so on are vital for effective roll out of waste segregation. This is consistent with a study conducted by Xu et al. (2015), which revealed that incentive-based source separation could reduce waste generation by 87.3%. Twenty-nine per cent (29%) of the respondents informally participate in recycling activities either by selling recyclable waste or reusing plastic bottles and containers. From the study, common recyclables traded in the Techiman municipality include plastics, metals, glass, paper, rubber and leather. The identified recyclables are similar to the findings of Oduro-Kwarteng et al. (2016).

Table 6. Residents responses to source separation

Variable	Frequency (N = 400)	Percentage(%)
Have you heard about waste recycling
Yes	272	68
No	118	32
Are you willing to engage in source separation?
Yes	318	79.5
No	82	20.5
What will motivate you for source separation?
Incentives	332	83
Personal decision	68	17
Do you separate your waste?
Yes	0	0
No	400	100
Do you sell recyclables or reuse cleaned materials?
Yes	116	29
No	284	71

4.3. Informal sector in recycling of waste

The study revealed that 33% of the households hire the services of the informal waste collectors to dispose of their waste. These households revealed that, the informal sector is proactive in waste collection services as they ensure timely collection and disposal of waste but mentioned that the main challenge was with their charges as that is solely based on bargaining powers. The results support the study by Oduro-Appiah et al. (2019), which revealed that incorporation of the informal sector into the solid waste management system led to a 37% increase in waste collection coverage (53% to 90%) in the Accra Metropolis. Despite the positive work ethics exhibited by the informal sector, their activities are still not incorporated in the formal waste management system of the Techiman municipality. Due to this, they seldom face restrictions and opposition from the formal waste management authorities in the municipality.

From the study, 29% of the households who participated in recycling activities traded their recyclables with the informal sector. The reason is that there is no formally established waste recycling institution in the municipality. All the recycling activities in the municipality were carried out by private individuals, groups or companies. The head of the Environmental Unit of the Municipal Assembly noted that plans are advanced to engage with the informal waste service providers to organize them and formally incorporate them into the waste management system.

4.4. Potential revenue streams from waste management in the Techiman municipality

From this study, the only revenue stream from the waste management authorities is the waste collection charges, which was revealed to be GH¢ 50.00 (approximately US$ 5) per month. This usually leads to annual financial deficits; nevertheless, these regulatory bodies have failed to utilize the other potential revenue streams to offset the financial losses. Identified sources of income for waste management, aside the collection charges in the municipality, include sales of recyclables, waste disposal charges (Pay as You Throw), fines for illegal disposal and littering. In an interview with some key stakeholders, it was revealed that waste disposal charges are difficult to implement due to a number of reasons including political interference. An assembly member who is part of the Environmental Planning Committee revealed that, “this has been an issue that has been discussed at various committee meetings, but the Assembly feels that the implementation will affect their political numbers. He added that in a meeting with the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), it was discussed that such a system could not be implemented at their time since the residents will speak ill of the government and make the government unpopular” (Personal Communication).

Sale of recyclables is left in the hands of private individuals, groups and companies, which means all financial benefits end up in the possession of the private person(s). This is consistent with a study by Matter et al. (2015).

Another potential source of income from waste management is fines for illegal waste disposal and littering. This can be fully realized if by-laws are made and strictly adhered to in order to help offset the huge financial deficit in waste management in the Municipality. However, there should be a proper analysis on revenue mobilization and sustainability measures as well as cost-revenue analysis for effective waste management in the Municipality.

5. Conclusion

Waste collection and proper disposal still remain a major challenge for the Techiman municipality, and open dumping and burning continue to be the main methods of disposing of waste in the municipality. Waste collection coverage continues to decline in the Techiman Municipality despite increasing waste generation due to the lack of private sector involvement, inadequate logistics and the lack of involvement of the informal sector. This means that effective waste management can be achieved through collaborative efforts by all key stakeholders in the municipality, including strong political will.

The composition of waste in the Techiman municipality offers a great potential for recycling to help reduce the huge volumes of waste. The challenge has been how to increase recycling activities by incorporating the activities of the informal sector and promote source separation. These challenges can be addressed by formalising activities of the informal waste collectors and providing incentives such as financial and material rewards to promote source separation.

There exist several revenue streams from waste management that authorities can explore. Some of these include the sale of recyclable waste, waste disposal charges and fines for illegal dumping and littering. This will generate some income to reduce the budgetary allocation for waste management at the municipality.

Authors’ contribution

Edward A. Awafo: Conceptualization, funds acquisition, supervision, manuscript review and editing

Emmanuel Amankwah: Manuscript review and supervision

Ishmael Agbalekpor: Data collection and analysis, and drafting

Disclosure statement

We declare that we have no identified financial or personal relationships that could have influenced the work in this study.

Additional information

Funding

The work is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) in Germany under grant number Grant No: 03SF059IC, through the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL)