‘Intensive consideration of waste management crucial’

Dr Dzidzo Yirenya-Tawiah, Lecturer at the Institute of Environmental and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, has called for intensive consideration of waste management in Ghana.

She said the poor environmental conditions in the country were fast assuming the scale of huge proportions and it was imperative to develop and implement a comprehensive waste management policy to address this.

Dr Yirenya-Tawiah said this at a public forum in Accra, organized by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences to discuss sanitation and waste management issues, including industrial, electronics and nuclear waste.

She urged government to take a second look at the definition of waste, as it is a resource with economic potential, which if, managed properly would yield dividend to all.

She also called on waste managers to support the daily running and maintenance of waste trucks, provide containers and do proper supervision.

Dr Martin Oteng-Ababio of the Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, who spoke on electronic waste, said heavy metals released during burning and recovery processes contaminate local air, soil, and groundwater, which diffuses into homes, food, markets and other public places.

He said such releases of heavy metal are very common in Agbobgloshie, a suburb of Accra, which makes drinking water, fish and livestock in the vicinity dangerous.

He said people living around the vicinity also faced varying degrees of elevated environmental health risks, adding that, the e-waste phenomena was a national security issue which needed urgent action.

He said with the help of high technological equipment, e-waste can be used to stop the conditions that allowed it to harm the environment as it can be recycled and not end up in a landfill.