Mini-waste transfer station inaugurated
A mini-waste transfer station located at Kokomlemle near Britannia Hotel in Accra, for the temporary disposal of waste, has been inaugurated.
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Dubbed, “Kokomlemle Britannia Mini Waste Transfer Station”, the facility constructed by Waste Landfills Limited, managers of the Nsumia landfill site at Nsawam, is expected to facilitate waste collection in the Accra metropolis.
It is also to help bridge the gap between communities and landfill sites in order to solve the perennial problem of the final disposal of waste as well as manage the indiscriminate disposal of waste in the capital.
The facility consists of a holding bay, a fence, a security gate, caretakers’ office and a tricycle climbing ramp.
Background to construction
In February last year, the government made a request to waste management companies to construct mini- waste transfer sites at strategic locations in the city.
That was intended to make it easier for waste collectors to easily move refuse from the city to the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant situated at Adzen Kotoku.
It was also to reduce the long distances waste-carrying trucks travelled from the city centre to dump their refuse following the closure of the Achimota Landfill Site in Accra.
In the future, transfer stations would be equipped with material recovery facilities and with localised mechanical biological treatment systems to remove recyclable items from the waste stream.
Benefits
Addressing the gathering at a ceremony in Accra, the General Manager of Waste Landfills Limited, Mr Peter Kwei Dagadu, said the siting of the facility was apt as it would provide enormous and beneficial services to the neighbouring communities that were not easily accessible by the conventional waste trucks.
He said similar transfer stations would be constructed at vantage points across the country to provide shorter distances for push carts and motor kings, and three-wheeled motorbikes, to discharge their waste quickly and to have enough time to cover more areas in the community in which they operated.
“This will not only prevent disease outbreaks as a result of uncollected waste but also prevent people from dumping indiscriminately at unauthorised places, “he said.
Site operations
On how the transfer station would be operated, Mr Dagadu said discharge bays had been provided to hold two or more containers at a time.
That, he said, would provide enough turnaround-time to sustain the pressure from the incoming waste until another container arrived to continue with the cycle and avoid spillage at the site.
He also said the site would constantly be maintained and fumigated to prevent any form of stench and breeding ground for insects such as houseflies and mosquitoes.
He, therefore, encouraged waste collectors to take advantage of the site and work hard to clear the city of filth because an avenue for waste disposal was now close to them.
Responsibility
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, urged the residents of Kokomlemle to take responsibility of the station and manage it, saying, “use it to beautify the community”.
He also advised the waste collectors who dumped waste at Mallam junction and the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) park close to Agbogbloshie to desist from such acts and rather bring their waste to the transfer station for final disposal.
“Let us all work together to change the country by having a common vision and goal to live up to ”, he said.
The Executive Secretary of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Mrs Ama Adobea Ofori-Antwi, tasked the AMA to come up with good and realistic fees that users of the facility would pay to help maintain the mini-waste station.