Fighting waste: More bins needed – Lecturer

Dr Richard Amponsah, an international project management consultant and a lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has asked the government to make waste bins available everywhere in the country as part of efforts to rid the country of filth.

According to him, easy access to waste bins will go a long way in dealing with littering. He observed that in most advanced countries, citizens have easy access to waste bins, thus, reducing the problem of poor sanitation.

His comments come on the heels of the launch of the National Sanitation Campaign by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, 13 November.

According to the president, “every day is sanitation day”. “I recognise, however, that the government cannot do it alone. This is where I wish to call on all of us, especially our Chiefs and Queen Mothers, religious and opinion leaders, civil society organisations, private sector operators, to rise up to the challenge and help make a difference this time around.”

Speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM on Tuesday, 14 November, Dr Amponsah said: “Those who are supposed to do their work have not done it that is why we are here. What is more important for me is, what do we do to get out of this situation?

“There are so many things we can do to come out of this situation. The waste is generated from our homes, from industry, from our market places and all over. When the waste is generated, it should be collected and when it is collected it must be transported to a place and when it is transported it must go to a final disposal site. That is the cycle of waste.

“So, first of all there must be sources of collection. When the waste is generated there must be a way of collecting it and that brings to mind accessibility.

“In advanced countries such as China, there are bins all over the place and so people don’t find it difficult accessing a waste bin.”