Unpacking the processes and factors affecting household solid waste collection within a democratic decentralised governance system: Experiences from the Wa Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Decentralising solid waste collection to local authorities is expected to respond positively to the enigma of solid waste collection. The study contributes to a contextual understanding of household solid waste collection governance in rapidly growing secondary cities within democratic decentralised government systems. Specifically, the study examined the processes and factors affecting household solid waste collection in a rapidly growing municipality in the Upper West Region, the Wa Municipality. Eleven key informants were purposefully selected and interviewed for data. The results show that the main waste collection modes were house-to-house and communal container collections, although unorganised dumping sites and organised dumping through dugout pits were also found. There was also a mismatch between the quantity of waste generated and that collected. The study found that the local government context - arrangements for financing the local government, partisan politics in the local government, and weaknesses in skills and logistics affect the local government’s ability to collect waste effectively. The study recommends intense education complemented with necessary bylaws to effect positive attitudes on solid waste collection in residents. The beneficiaries of the communal container collection system should be made to pay for service delivery to cater for container repairs. At the same time, the Municipal Assembly should prosecute households that practise indiscriminate dumping.