Ga East Municipal Assembly to start operating new landfill site
All is set for the Ga East Municipal Assembly to start operating a new landfill site to supplement the work of the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant.
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The Chief Executive of the Assembly, Mr John Kwao Sackey, said the new landfill site would recycle garbage into energy.
He stated that the project was being supported by the Public Private Partnership (PPP) secretariat, the Local Government Ministry and the Ministry of Finance.
Mr Sackey made this known when the Waste Landfills Company Limited, a waste management company in Accra, disinfected the Abokobi landfill site and its environs yesterday.
The MCE gave an the assurance that plans were far advanced to phase out the dumping of refuse at the Abokobi landfill site.
He said the only hindrance to the operation of the new landfill site was the issuing of an electricity tariff certification from the Electricity Company of Ghana.
Upon attaining the certificate, he said, the sanitation-related problems confronting the assembly would be addressed.
Make use of waste
The MCE called on the Ministry of Agriculture to process the garbage in the system into manure to be used to improve crop production.
In view of this, Mr Sackey urged the Ministry to liaise with the Local Government Ministry to collaborate on the possibility of producing manure out of garbage.
Sanitation-related diseases
The Operations Manager of Waste Landfills Company Limited, Mr Richard Omane-Mensah, said the disinfection exercise was carried out periodically to prevent the outbreak of sanitation-related diseases in the area.
“As part of our environmental management activities, we are supposed to spray this site on a daily basis and that is actually done, but once in a month. We also spray the immediate surroundings.”
He added that the Abokobi landfill site would soon become a transit station for the carting of waste from the city to other compost sites.
Mixed reactions
Some residents of the area called for the closure of the site.
According to them, the overpowering stench and smoke from the dumpsite make them fall sick regularly.
One of them, Ms Joyce Narh, said: “The smoke becomes unbearable during sunny days and the stench worsens when it rains; thick smoke emanates from the mountainous garbage each day.”
She added that they were unable to prepare food on their compounds or eat outside their rooms because of the stench and the invasion of houseflies.
Another resident, Mr Samuel Adewale, had a contrary view.
He said the closure of the site would be a disaster for the people in the community as “the site serves as a source of revenue for most of the youth in the area”.
He suggested that the authorities should disinfect the area regularly instead of closing it down.
