The Fixes That Can Solve Accra’s Waste Problems

Accra’s sanitation crisis is a complex web of overflowing landfills, choked drains, and institutional failures. But solutions exist. From source separation and plastic-to-fuel plants to drainage re-engineering and digital platforms, this article explores the practical fixes that could finally tackle the capital’s waste nightmare.

Introduction: A Crisis That Demands Systemic Solutions

Accra generates between 4,000 and 5,000 tonnes of waste daily . Yet the city currently has only one major landfill site serving the entire Greater Accra Region—a sharp drop from 17 operational disposal sites in 2023. The Kpone landfill is exhausted and expected to close within six months, leaving only the distant Adepa landfill beyond Nsawam .

The root causes are well-documented: choked drains, institutional fragmentation, wetland encroachment, and a collection system undermined by unregulated informal operators. But the fixes are also becoming clearer. This ASJ article examines the key solutions being proposed and implemented to solve Accra’s waste problems.

1. Source Separation: The Foundation of a New System

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is moving to make waste separation at source mandatory under revised sanitation bye-laws .

How it would work:

• Residents and businesses will be legally required to separate waste into three streams: organic, recyclable, and residual 

• A colour-coded bin system will guide compliance: green for organic, black for residual, and brown for recyclables 

• Collection schedules will vary by waste type: organic waste collected three times a week, residual once weekly, and recyclables once every two weeks 

Why it matters: Source separation is the foundation of a circular economy. Without it, recyclable materials and organic waste end up in landfills, taking up space and producing methane. As the Deputy Director of Waste Management at AMA noted, “Our current system does not recognise or promote source separation. That is a major gap we are correcting through this amendment” .

The revised bye-laws will also support the formation of cooperatives for informal waste collectors, who account for nearly 46% of waste collection in Accra . This is critical because formalising the informal sector is essential for any lasting solution.

2. Recycling and Waste-to-Energy: Turning Trash into Treasure

The Teshie Transfer Station Recycling Expansion

The reopening of the Teshie Waste Transfer Station after four years of inactivity has brought new hope . The facility, which serves Ledzokuku, Krowor, La Dade-Kotopon, and Tema West, plans to introduce recycling operations that could reduce landfill waste by up to 80% .

The facility will recover recyclable materials such as PET bottles, sachet water plastics, HDPE containers, and other plastic products, processing them for manufacturing companies that produce items like waste bins, buckets, and plastic furniture .

The 100-Tonne Plastic-to-Fuel Pyrolysis Plant

In June 2026, the AMA signed a binding feedstock agreement with Numatter Recycling Technologies Limited for Ghana’s first industrial-scale plastic-to-fuel pyrolysis plant . The plant will convert more than 100 tonnes of plastic waste daily into premium-grade petrol, diesel, kerosene, and activated carbon .

Key Details:

• The project is expected to create about 1,500 direct and indirect jobs 

• The agreement establishes legally binding commitments for the supply of sorted plastic waste streams 

• The facility will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week 

• The plant will create a commercially viable market for hard-to-recycle plastics, including sachets and multilayer films 

Mayor Michael Kpakpo Allotey described the initiative as “a significant step towards transforming plastic waste from an environmental burden into a strategic economic resource” . The plant will also help address one of Accra’s most persistent environmental challenges: plastic pollution that clogs drains and causes flooding.

The Need for Composting Centres

According to Dr. Ted Yemoh Annang, a senior environmental researcher at the University of Ghana, more than three-quarters of Ghana’s waste is biodegradable and could be diverted through composting . Using a typical market as an example, he noted that more than 90% of the waste generated is organic .

He has called on metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies to establish composting centres using simple methods to process organic waste from markets and households. These centres would also create jobs for local communities .

3. Re-engineering Accra’s Drainage System

The Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) has warned that conventional drainage infrastructure is no longer fit for purpose in Accra’s modern urban environment . The Institution has advocated a shift toward decentralised, nature-based stormwater management systems designed to mimic natural hydrological processes .

Recommended Interventions

A detailed analysis of what a holistic re-engineering of the whole system should contain includes :

1. Treat the catchment, not the gutter: Water does not respect administrative boundaries. The GhIE has called for a single greater metropolitan management structure to manage the entire catchment as one hydrological unit .

2. Slow the water where it falls: Modern resilient cities delay and absorb water through permeable pavements, rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs, and mandatory rainwater harvesting for larger buildings .

3. Hold the water on the hills: Reforestation and contour planting on the Akuapem hills, check dams and sediment traps on upper tributaries, and firm protection of remaining slope vegetation are essential .

4. Restore the natural buffers: Wetlands—including Sakumo, Kpeshie, and Chemu—are flood-control infrastructure. They must be legally protected, cleared of encroachment, and actively restored .

5. Dredge, widen, and maintain—permanently: One-off, pre-election dredging is not a strategy. Channels need permanent, funded, year-round maintenance .

4. Formalising the Informal Sector: The “Aboboyaa” Challenge

The Chamber for Local Government has called for more waste transfer stations across the country . The lack of transfer stations has made it difficult for informal waste collectors, popularly known as “Aboboyaa” operators, to dispose of refuse.

The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has announced plans to incorporate informal tricycle waste collectors into the country’s formal waste management system . A framework is being developed to regulate their operations, improve service delivery, and integrate them into the national sanitation system .

Improving Transfer Station Operations

The government has already taken steps to address the crisis. Following President John Dramani Mahama’s directive, five of the six designated waste transfer stations in the capital have resumed operations: Abokobi, Teshie, Achimota, Ashaiman, and Jamestown . The only non-functional station, Malam, is awaiting construction of an access road by National Security and the 48 Engineer Regiment .

A 24-hour operational schedule has been introduced at the Jamestown transfer station to minimise congestion, with tricycle operators delivering waste during the day and articulated trucks transporting refuse overnight .

5. Digital Solutions: The Wastle App

In July 2026, Afrinova Waste Solutions Limited launched the Wastle App, a digital waste management platform designed to improve waste collection services .

How it works:

• The platform connects households and businesses with tricycle waste operators 

• Residents can request waste collection services, report blocked drains, and facilitate timely interventions to prevent flooding 

• The app promotes accountability through digital tracking 

Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, described the initiative as timely, noting that it would complement government efforts to improve sanitation. MP for Madina, Dr Francis-Xavier Sosu, observed that improper waste disposal often leads to choked drains and severe flooding, particularly during the rainy season .

6. Demolition and Enforcement: A Necessary But Contentious Fix

The National Flood Mitigation Task Force has begun a phased exercise to dredge, desilt, and remove illegal structures along waterways in parts of Accra .

The task force, led by Stan Dogbe (Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations) and including the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, began operations at New England, behind Airport Hills, and the Tesa Dam in East Legon . At the Tesa Dam, unauthorised structures erected along the banks were demolished, where encroachment had significantly narrowed the natural waterway .

Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah, Director-General of Joint Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, explained: “Because people have built in this area, the channel has been narrowed. Water is therefore not able to flow freely to the holding area downstream. Since the channel is blocked, the area cannot take in enough water. The water backs up, causing the surrounding communities to flood” .

The Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, stated that President Mahama had directed that desilting and dredging of drains should become a continuous nationwide exercise—not a seasonal response .

7. The 10-Year Strategy and Climate Financing

In June 2026, the AMA launched an ambitious 10-year Solid Waste Optimisation Strategy (2025–2035) aimed at overhauling waste management in the capital .

The strategy has already attracted grant support from the African Development Bank and interest from development finance institutions . The project was developed with support from the C40 Cities Finance Facility, GIZ, and the Governments of the United Kingdom and Germany .

The LOW-Methane Portfolio

Accra has also unveiled its LOW-Methane Portfolio, committing to a 30% reduction in methane emissions from waste disposal by 2030 .

The portfolio’s three strategic goals:

1. Achieve at least 50% source-separated organic waste collection by 2030 

2. Build a decentralised organic waste management system capable of diverting at least 30% of organic waste by 2040 

3. Invest in people and data through public education campaigns and tracking progress against Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions 

Projected benefits: 13,500 tonnes of annual methane reduction by 2040, while creating local jobs, improving air quality, strengthening food systems through compost production, and building energy resilience through biogas utilisation .

The portfolio was developed with technical support from the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), and C40 Cities. As Desmond Alugnoa of GAIA Africa stated: “Accra’s LOW-Methane Portfolio is proof that when local governments, national, regional, and global organisations pull in the same direction, climate targets can become real action on the ground” .

Quick Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Accra doing about waste separation?
The AMA is amending its sanitation bye-laws to make waste separation at source mandatory for all residents and businesses. A colour-coded bin system (green for organic, black for residual, brown for recyclables) will be introduced .

2. What is the plastic-to-fuel plant in Accra?
The AMA has signed a binding agreement with Numatter Recycling Technologies Limited for Ghana’s first industrial-scale pyrolysis plant. It will convert more than 100 tonnes of plastic waste daily into petrol, diesel, kerosene, and activated carbon, creating 1,500 jobs .

3. How can composting help Accra’s waste problem?
More than 75% of Ghana’s waste is biodegradable. Researchers have called on assemblies to establish composting centres to divert organic waste from landfills, reducing pressure on disposal sites while producing organic manure for agriculture .

4. What is the Wastle App?
The Wastle App is a digital waste management platform launched in July 2026 that connects households and businesses with tricycle waste operators. Residents can request waste collection services and report blocked drains .

5. What is the LOW-Methane Portfolio?
Accra’s LOW-Methane Portfolio is a roadmap to reduce methane emissions from waste by 30% by 2030. It focuses on source separation, decentralised organic waste management, and public education .

6. What is the government doing about illegal structures in waterways?
The National Flood Mitigation Task Force has begun demolishing illegal structures along waterways, including at the Tesa Dam in East Legon. The exercise includes dredging, desilting, and clearing debris to restore water channels .

7. How will Aboboyaa operators be integrated into the system?
The Ministry of Local Government is developing a framework to regulate tricycle waste collectors and integrate them into the formal sanitation system. Five transfer stations have been reopened to give them legal places to dump waste

Source: Accra Street Journal 

Last Updated on August 30, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.

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