TY - JOUR
T1 - Managing urban solid waste in Ghana
T2 - Perspectives and experiences of municipal waste company managers and supervisors in an urban municipality
AU - Lissah, Samuel Yaw
AU - Ayanore, Martin Amogre
AU - Krugu, John K.
AU - Aberese-Ako, Matilda
AU - Ruiter, Robert A. C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2021 Lissah et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2021/3/11
Y1 - 2021/3/11
N2 - Increased population growth and rapid urbanization have resulted in the generation of large quantities of solid waste across major urban cities in Ghana, outstripping local authorities' ability to manage and dispose of waste in a sanitary manner. This study explored the perspectives and experiences of municipal waste company managers and supervisors in the Ho municipality of Ghana on solid waste management practices. A qualitative inquiry was conducted by adopting a phenomenological approach, using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions for data collection. A total of 35 participants, made up of 12 managers and 23 supervisors took part in the study. Transcribed data were imported into NVivo 11.0 software for coding. Content analysis was applied to analyze all transcribed data using processes of induction and deduction. The results showed that organizational capacity, resources, and expertise; community factors such as socio-cultural beliefs and a low sense of responsibility towards solid waste management among urban residents; contextual factors such as regulations, and weak enforcement all influence and shape the level of efficiency and effectiveness of solid waste management practices in the study setting. The findings suggest that policy frameworks and procedures implemented to curb poor urban waste management practices should be systematic and thorough in order to tackle the issue of solid waste in the study setting and Ghana in general. The nature of the identified issues and challenges requires multidimensional and multilevel interventions to provide sustainable solutions for managing urban waste in Ghana.
AB - Increased population growth and rapid urbanization have resulted in the generation of large quantities of solid waste across major urban cities in Ghana, outstripping local authorities' ability to manage and dispose of waste in a sanitary manner. This study explored the perspectives and experiences of municipal waste company managers and supervisors in the Ho municipality of Ghana on solid waste management practices. A qualitative inquiry was conducted by adopting a phenomenological approach, using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions for data collection. A total of 35 participants, made up of 12 managers and 23 supervisors took part in the study. Transcribed data were imported into NVivo 11.0 software for coding. Content analysis was applied to analyze all transcribed data using processes of induction and deduction. The results showed that organizational capacity, resources, and expertise; community factors such as socio-cultural beliefs and a low sense of responsibility towards solid waste management among urban residents; contextual factors such as regulations, and weak enforcement all influence and shape the level of efficiency and effectiveness of solid waste management practices in the study setting. The findings suggest that policy frameworks and procedures implemented to curb poor urban waste management practices should be systematic and thorough in order to tackle the issue of solid waste in the study setting and Ghana in general. The nature of the identified issues and challenges requires multidimensional and multilevel interventions to provide sustainable solutions for managing urban waste in Ghana.
KW - ACCRA METROPOLITAN-AREA
KW - HEALTH
KW - CITIES
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0248392
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0248392
M3 - Article
C2 - 33705483
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 16
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
IS - 3
M1 - 0248392
ER -