World Toilet Day is a UN international observance day to encourage action towards the global sanitation crisis.
The ultimate goal is to get organizations and governments around the world to work together to plan actions related to sanitation and make progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6.
This goal is to make sure that everyone has equal and easy access to clean water and sanitation by ending open defecation and encouraging people to use hygiene.
This year’s World Toilet Day theme is ‘Accelerating Change’, highlighting the journey towards achieving SDG 6.
This annual event in Ghana showcases the importance of safe and sustainable sanitation systems and creates awareness among our people, who are forced to live without clean and safe toilets.
In addition, this World Toilet Day ought to make us realize that there are problems that still exist with regard to the collection, management, and disposal of solid waste.
Inadequate waste management leads to water contamination, health problems, and air pollution that endanger human existence.
The importance of solid waste management at national, regional, and global levels to fight these challenges should be understood.
Understanding solid waste management
Solid Waste Management is a term that refers to the whole procedure of solid waste production, collection, storage, conveyance, treatment, recycling, and disposal. It is a vital part of environmental hygiene.
Solid waste management is not only about waste disposal; it is also about viewing waste as a resource that can be carefully handled so as to create value. By taking this approach, we can turn waste into cash and promote environmental conservation.
The Global Challenge of Solid Waste
The solid waste problem is universal and requires immediate action. A World Bank report says that by 2025, the annual cost of solid waste management will increase from $205 billion to $375 billion.
The report also projects that the amount of municipal solid waste to be generated will rise from 1.3 billion metric tons to 2.2 billion metric tons annually over the same period. Urbanization will increase waste generation in developing nations, including those in West Africa, at a very high rate. Ghana, an emerging country with a growing population, needs to handle these threats to make the future sustainable.
Solid Waste Management in Ghana
Ghana has a number of challenges associated with handling its solid waste. Negligence is the main challenge to waste becoming the primary issue in society, including authorities and citizens.
Lack of properly engineered disposal sites and waste treatment facilities, subpar haulage equipment, and a lack of knowledge and technical know-how all make the issue worse.
This is because of the increasing populations and rapid urbanization that compound the challenges faced by waste management systems.
Financial restrictions, lax enforcement of environmental laws, indiscriminate dumping, and inadequate storage and transportation equipment all contribute to the problem.
Solid Waste Management Successes and Innovations
However, Ghana has achieved some milestones in solid waste management. The government, in collaboration with private waste management firms, has undertaken various initiatives to respond to this challenge. One such success is the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP).
ACARP is an integrated waste processing and recycling company that receives and processes municipal solid and liquid waste.
The public-private partnership has improved waste management, created job opportunities, and contributed to the circular economy.
Extending such initiatives countrywide and investing in recycling technologies are necessary steps toward sustainable waste management.
Waste Management from a Business Point of View
Solid waste is not merely a social burden; it’s a business opportunity. Ghana can capitalize on the idea that waste should be perceived as a resource that produces revenue.
Recycling businesses can generate income by acquiring valuable materials from the waste stream, which eases the financial burden of waste management on local authorities.
Separation of the source and a reward system for the residents can facilitate recycling. Buy-back stalls may be set up for the general public to sell sorted waste directly to recycling companies.
This approach turns waste management into a profitable industry that involves communities.
Good Behavioural Changes and Correct Disposal
Waste management also requires a holistic approach that involves educating and sensitizing the community. Placing appropriate waste bins adequately in public places as well as emptying the bins can help reduce street littering.
Through easy and accessible waste disposal, the likelihood of people disposing of the waste responsibly is increased.
In this regard, behavioral change requires strong enforcement of laws and regulations. People who pollute the streets should be penalized in order to maintain a clean and tidy community.
Private Sector Involvement and Support
Improving waste management in Ghana through enabling private sector participation Waste management should be considered a reputable and essential field that attracts entrepreneurs and investors.
Tax breaks, low-interest loans to the private sector, and technological support can promote the involvement of the private sector.
Ghana can ease pressure on local authorities and develop new ways of addressing waste challenges by supporting waste management businesses.
The sustainability of waste management goals is only possible when there is collaboration between the public and private sectors.
An Integrated, Sustainable Waste Management System.
An integrated sustainable waste and management system (ISWS) should be used to address the intricacies associated with waste management.
Focusing on stakeholders, waste systems’ elements, and what sustainability means, an effective waste management framework can only be created through a joint effort among policymakers, waste management companies, environmentalists, and members of the public.
Such a system would have to incorporate methods such as waste minimization, reuse, recycling, and composting, in addition to collection, transfer, and disposal.
For solid waste management and disposal, biodegradable biofil toilet waste biodigesters have become the go-to solution for homeowners.
Using an ISWM, Ghana will recover the maximum possible amount of resources, mitigate environmental damage, and promote the circular economy.
Role Played by Research and Development.
Research is essential to informed decision-making about waste management. The researchers can give relevant information on how waste is managed, what technologies are applied, and how laws exist for waste.
They analyze how waste management affects people socially, economically, as well as environmentally. It is crucial for researchers, experts, and policymakers to cooperate in order to trigger novelty and proof-driven planning.
Ghana should invest in research and create an environment conducive to innovations in order to stay updated on the changing patterns of waste management across the globe, thus improving the same in the country.
A sustainable future requires rethinking solid waste management in Ghana. Ghana could convert waste into a profit-making venture by seeing it as a resource and choosing innovative approaches to its management.
Steps that should be taken in this direction include the promotion of behavioral change, encouragement of privatization, and integration of waste management and the environment.
Ghana could use research and innovation to set a course for effective methods of dealing with waste problems in an affordable and environmentally friendly way.
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