One of the major concerns in the world today is global warming. Every nation is doing all that it can to reduce the production of gases and other allied causative factors that aggravate global warming. In as much as global warming is a concern to many, waste management is also vital to a nation’s development. We all know of what happened to Italy recently about their abysmal attitude toward waste management.

Ghana is not an exception when it comes to inimical waste management practice. Over the years, we strive to distill major drains and provide mechanisms to stop the ascendancy of refuse in our capital cities. Though there are factors that gag the acceleration of our inputs, our attitude does not show we mean business. Recently, donors had to seize funds coming into the country because of delay in distilling the Korle ramsar.

The main issue is that in the hall of fame of managerial skills vis-à-vis waste, everyone including the boy from Chorkor knows that ZOOMLION is the leading name in Ghana. All the way from the CAN 2008 till now, ZOOMLION is the biggest waste management company that serves the Ghanaian community. That is well said and I should say that they have done well towards the maintenance of sanitation in the country. But then we should also ask the question as to whether ZOOMLION has decently served the various communities as deserved. Is it a waste management institution or a waste transfer body?

Citing several reasons, I feel ZOOMLION has not fully fulfilled its duty as a waste management company. The gathering of waste and disposing it at an inconvenient place is termed transfer of waste. I hope places like Fertilizer junction and Nsufa can attest to the disadvantages of waste transfer. To make it more exasperating, these mentioned places are residential areas.

When we talk about waste management, it is a system where drastic measures are put in place to make sure that minimal waste is produced and already existing waste is taken care of. Waste management institutions must consider the conversion of energy where waste material can be channeled and converted into useful products. Such products include methane gas and recycled products. A waste management company has a social responsibility of advising policy makers and implementers on making policies that would prevent the production of non- biodegradable plastic and paper products. A waste management company must consider the health of the community into which they dump refuse for which ever reason.

My argument is that, the waste management companies should not only transfer waste but in doing so, make sure that it is appropriately managed in a way that the company, the community and the environment would all benefit from its activities.

The question as to whether ZOOMLION is a waste management company or a waste transfer company, your comments would prove your stance if a critical eye is given to the subject matter.

Atawura Philip

Academy of Young Writers – Ghana

Creative Writers and Orators Club