In some local cities , the city is the waste hauler, but in the unincorporated areas, trash is collected by companies that the County permits to pick it up. A transfer station is a location that accepts trash, and frequently recyclables and other materials, before transferring them off to their final destination. This is done in part so that the heavy trucks that do the collection do not have to drive all the way to a waste's final destination.
Nothing stays at the transfer station permanently; everything is transferred out using big rig trucks. The County operates four transfer stations, which you can read more about on the County's Public Works website. Trash from all these locations gets transferred to a landfill. The principal behind modern sanitary landfills is to bury trash in the most contained way possible.
Trash is delivered by trucks to what is called the "open cell". This is the only part of the landfill that has trash visible at the surface. After being delivered, the trash is driven over by heavy machines called compactors. A lot of materials contain air, and the compactors squeeze out as much air as possible. After the cell is full, it is covered permanently with a layer of material, usually dirt or something similar.
At that point there is a new cell opened until it is filled. Modern landfills are lined with material to keep contaminants inside the landfill from leaking out. Most Some From the multiple responses, The extent of motivation for waste management in the area may be summarized in the following assertion by a key informant.
So yes to be frank, Madina as you can see, the town is developing and a lot of people are moving here and businesses are booming here.
Two hundred and seventy eight respondents The study indicates that increased domestic and household activities in urban environments are linked to the generation of high volumes of domestic wastes [ 23 ]. It is also evident that some of this waste is dumped on the streets, gutters, holes and in nearby bushes.
This has the potential of serving as breeding grounds for rodents and insects that could increase the risk of the spread of parasitic and zoonotic diseases [ 24 ]. Moreover, food debris disposed off indiscriminately could give rise to choked drains and blocked waterways, which create the possibility of flooding during the wet season [ 25 ].
The high level of plastic waste generated by households This phenomenon of increased plastic waste is likely to have implications for disposal, since plastic is not biodegradable. Most often, waste is burnt in the open air at the final disposal sites. Burning of plastic waste will add to the toxic gaseous emissions in the atmosphere, polluting the air and destroying the ozone layer and its protective properties, thereby increasing the risk of health hazards, including cancers.
Apart from that, the large quantity of plastic waste that is generated could create financial and socio-economic losses for governments at large when they try to manage it. It is estimated that over In addition, plastic wastes seem to be part of almost all the waste generated at home.
This is consistent with earlier studies that suggested that the increased of use of plastics is due to changes in life style and industrialization in which plastic packages replace other forms of packaging [ 26 , 27 ]. The best practice is to store domestic waste in covered plastic bins.
However, only The use of covered plastic bins protects the waste from direct exposure to flies, vermin, and scavengers, and they also prevent odour nuisances and unsightliness [ 25 , 26 , 28 ].
The study also reveals that there has not been a significant change from what existed in Accra during [ 8 ]. Unfortunately, indiscriminate open dumping of wastes poses significant threats to public health and the environment if they are not stored, collected and disposed of properly [ 29 ]. It also makes a travesty of solid waste regulations and defeats the national environmental sanitation policy of maintaining a clean, safe and pleasant physical environment for human settlements [ 7 ].
To ensure adherence to the solid waste policies, district, municipal, and metropolitan assemblies will have to develop and strictly enforce regulations in communities.
Most of the respondents did not separate their waste; out of the households, only 63 This situation creates a suitable environment for breeding of disease vectors, such as mosquitoes and cockroaches, and the proliferation of rodents, such as rats and mice, which pose threats to public health [ 31 ].
The use of colour coded containers to store different types of solid waste, which has been in practice in developed countries for over four decades, is reported to offer a more cost-effective waste management service, since it improves household waste separation and reduces the amount of waste in landfills [ 29 ]. Although The Ghana landfill guideline noted that the current practice of solid waste disposal in the country has been largely by uncontrolled dumping in places, such as abandoned quarry sites, valleys, beaches, and drains.
These dumping sites are major threats to human health and the environment [ 32 ]. The waste collection service in the city is performed by the private sector under various agreements with the metropolitan assembly, as well as the use communal bins provided by private contractors.
However, the services provided by the private sector were reported to be unsatisfactory. Overall, Most respondents complained of irregular patterns in waste collection and the high cost of contracting with private collectors. The Millennium Development Goals provide a framework for assessing the relevance and importance of private sector participation in solid waste management in our efforts to improve the lives of urban dwellers.
The impact of private sector participation in solid waste management on these goals cannot be ignored, particularly with respect to Goal 7, which emphasises ensuring environmental sustainability [ 33 , 34 ]. According to the EPA, solid waste services in most developing countries generally do not satisfy the full demand in urban areas [ 35 ]. The perceptions of the respondents towards waste management generally seemed to be fairly low. Since these people did not see disposal as an important issue, it is not likely that they will improve their waste disposal practices and management practices.
This finding, however, is not consistent with other studies that suggested that general waste management in Ghana is perceived as the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, which supervises the decentralized MMDAs [ 18 ]. The compound houses were densely populated, which may set the pace for the generation of more waste in the community, so the attitudes of a few about waste disposal could result in the whole compound house practicing similar disposal styles or behaviours.
Dense populations and increased consumption have been shown to increase more waste and increase disposal problems [ 18 ].
The present study also revealed that This could be because This confirms the growing perception in Ghana that low levels of education contribute to poor waste management practices in the country. Other factors that contribute to this situation are poor attitudes, lack of concern about environmental issues, high levels of poverty and misguided waste disposal practices [ 19 ].
Increasing rural-urban migration into the Ga East municipality compounds the problem of waste management, as citizens do not take responsibility for adequate waste disposal and, rather, rely on government to dispose of waste. This, in part, may be due to the poor attitudes of the people and their lack of concern about the environment and public health [ 5 ]. This high level of knowledge on the effects of waste management does not correspond with the observed practices.
The household heads who educate the occupants of the home have several reasons for properly disposing of waste, including cleanliness, fear of diseases, and odour. The solid waste generated at home was largely food debris and plastic, which are disposed without separation and stored in uncovered plastic bins. Some of the waste is disposed appropriately at communal sites, while some of it is disposed by the practice of crude dumping in gutters, holes, streets, and bushes.
Most respondents said they would be happier if more collecting bins were provided and there was regular collection of solid waste for the disposal sites, and some were willing to pay more if the charges were increased. The majority of the households were aware of the health implication of waste, although some had no basic education. Many perceived that children should be responsible for waste management. Most of the respondents thought that improper waste management could lead to malaria and diarrhoea.
Proper waste management can lead to improvement in the quality of the environment while, on the other hand, poor waste management can lead to air pollution and breeding of mosquitos, thus causing disease [ 5 , 24 ]. The study found that the majority of the solid waste generated at home was largely food debris and plastics, which were mainly stored in uncovered plastic containers and disposed without separation.
Although waste was disposed appropriately at communal sites, some community members practiced crude dumping in any available space, including gutters, holes, streets, and bushes. Although, indiscriminate dumping was frequently done, the community expressed interest in controlling waste disposal through the use of bins and regular collection to dump sites.
The communities cherished improved waste management practices and were willing to pay for improved services. Although this study fills an important gap in the literature, there are a few limitations that are worth noting.
The survey did not obtain the determined sample size, due to the fact that some urban dwellers refused to participate in the survey. Out of the respondents who were selected for the sample, 35 respondents refused to participant in the study. Although there was a non-response rate of 4. The qualitative data were derived from highly technical and influential people in the communities who were purposively selected and, therefore, the findings from the in-depth interviews are not necessarily indicative of the situation in all urban communities.
Although, there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings, they could have been augmented by Focus Group Discussions with community members. Management of solid and liquid waste. Google Scholar. Habitat Int. Article Google Scholar. Landsc Urban Plan. Managing the Monster. Edited by: Onibokum AG. J Environ Manage. Article PubMed Google Scholar. Accessed on April. Cholera prevalence on open space refue duimps in Kumasi, Ghana: a spatial statistical modeling.
Inter J Health Geog. Rhule RP: Discard behaviour and mound formation. Phil Thesis. Department of Biological Sciences. Disposing of trash responsibly, or reducing the amount of trash we create, helps to keep plastic and other debris from littering our oceans and other natural habitats.
From transportation to treatment, a variety of resources are used when handling, sorting and processing waste. While landfills do their best to maintain the safest environment possible, you can do your part by taking steps to reduce waste at home. Johnson recommends the following tips to reduce waste:. For more ways you can reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill, take a look at the Sustainability section of our blog.
Have thoughts on this topic? Head over to Twitter or Facebook and use dumpstersblog to join the conversation. Learn how over Austin businesses are working together to green their community with the help of The Austin Green Business Leaders Program. Refrigerator on the fritz? Air conditioner blowing hot air? It may be time to dispose of your old appliance and remove the Freon safely. Find out how to safely remove Freon per EPA guidelines. Need a Dumpster?
Call Go. First, household trash is sorted to remove recyclable items like plastic bottles, paper and metal. This is a very labor-intensive process and workers frequently have to wear hazmat suits and face protection to avoid potential health risks.
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