MPs want policy on waste disposal

She said unmanaged waste created a breeding ground for microbial pathogens and posed serious health risks.

She said the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology needed to take complete charge  of the situation and institute scientific measures to manage waste, such as the construction and management of well engineered landfill sites to provide a safe alternative to uncontrolled dumping.

A typical landfill site, she said, should have earthen or synthetic liners to prevent refuse from contaminating the earth and water.

She said recycling was another scientific alternative which the country could adopt, as well as combustion, which entailed the controlled burning of waste from which electricity could be generated.

Ms Safo said countries such as Brazil, India, South Africa and Malaysia had success stories and precedents for Ghana to follow.

She called for collaboration among the Environmental Protection Agency, private sector players and research institutions to ensure proper waste management.

She also called for the creation of a special fund for waste management.

Mrs Appiagyei, for her part, said in recent times the country had become saddled with the problems of lack of final disposal facilities, street littering, choked drains, offensive odour, indiscriminate and open defecation, huge heaps of refuse, among other things.

She named the major obstacles to the efficient and effective delivery of waste management as lack of disposal facilities, poor regulatory framework, bad attitude among the people, poor planning, rapid urbanisation, as well as lack of funds.

To address the problems, she called for the introduction of incentives such as subsidies, concessionary loans and tax exemptions to encourage investment in equipment, research and training.

Mrs Appiagyei also called for support for metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in waste collection and the provision of total funding for waste disposal operations.

Also, legal and regulatory frameworks needed to be improved.

The MP for Manhyia, Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, called for the creation of landfill sites and the proper management of waste, saying the waste sector could create jobs.

The MP for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, called on the government to strengthen relevant state institutions to ensure thee proper management of waste.

The MP for Akwatia, Baba Jamal, said the attitude of Ghanaians towards waste disposal needed to change.

Story by Emmanuel Adu-Gyamera and Mark-Anthony Vinorkor