Solid wastes are all the wastes arising from human and animal activities that are normally solid and are discarded as useless or unwanted. (Tchobanoglous e'tal, 1993). The need for effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly solid waste disposal methods is to manage society's waste in a way that meets public health and environmental concerns and the public interest to reuse and recycle.
Rapid increase in volume and types of solid waste as a result of continuous economic growth, urbanization and industrialization, is becoming an escalating problem for countries and local governments in the quest to ensuring effective and sustainable management of waste. It is estimated that in 2006 alone, a total of 2.02 billion tones of municipal solid waste (MSW) was generated globally amount indicating a 7% annual increase since 2003. (GWMMR), 2007). It is again quantified that between 2007 and 2011, global Generation of municipal waste will rise by 37.3%, equivalent to roughly 8% increase per year. Based on incomplete reports from its participants, the Basel convention estimated that about 318 and 338 million tons of hazardous and other waste were generated in 2000 and 2001 respectively (UNEP, 2009).
One of the guiding principles for UK waste management has been the concept of a hierarchy of waste management options, where the most desirable option is not to produce the waste in the first place and the least desirable option is to dispose of the waste with no recovery of either materials and/or energy. Between these two extremes there are a wide variety of waste treatment options that may be used as part of a waste management strategy to recover materials or generate energy from the wastes (example through incineration, or digesting biodegradable wastes to produce usable gases). Currently more than 62% of all MSW generated in England is disposed of in landfills. (DEFRA, 2007).
Waste disposal in Ghana is mainly by landfilling. The country presently boasts of only two Sanitary Landfill facilities located in Kumasi and Tamale. Two others are under construction in Sekondi-Takoradi and Tema. The other cities and towns depend on dumpsites for their waste disposal. Other systems such as incineration, waste to energy, anaerobic digestion, etc have so far remained at exploratory stages, with the exception of composting which is at the implementation stage at Zoomlion (Agyepong, 2011).
The rapid development of towns and cities has given rise to increased population tied with increasing socio-economic activities. Ghana's, population now standing at 23million, generates about 4.5million metric tons of solid waste a year. (Agyepong, 2011).
Research has shown that only 10% of solid wastes generated in Ghana are properly disposed of. In the last few years problems with solid waste disposal have assumed increased prominence as a political issue especially in urban areas. The dismissal of a mayor of the capital city (Accra) in 2002 was largely attributed to his inability to deal with the problems of waste management. Based on an estimated population of 18 million and an average daily waste generation per capita of 0.45 kg, Ghana generates annually about 3.0 million tons of solid waste. Accra, the capital, and Kumasi, the second city, with a combined population of about 4 million and a floating population of about 2.5 million generate over 3,000 tons of solid waste daily. (Mensah and Larbi, 2005,).
The daily solid waste generation in Accra, with an estimated population of about 3.3 million is 1500 tons. The quantities of waste generated have been increasing rapidly and is projected to reach double figures in the not too distant future (EPA, 2002, cited in Mamley, 2010, p.1). As in most developing cities, solid waste in Accra has a high putrescible organic content. The organic fraction is made up of kitchen waste including food leftovers, rotten fruits, vegetables, leaves, crop residues, animal excreta and bones (Asomani-Boateng and Haight, 1999 cited in Mamley, 2010, p.1).
Plastics, glass, metals and paper account for less than 15% of total waste. High organic and moisture contents coupled with prevailing high temperatures necessitate frequent removals, which place additional burden on an overstrained collection system. (Mamley, 2010, p.1). It is acknowledged that a lot of hard work has been done by previous researchers in the areas of solid waste disposal; hitherto, a comparative analysis of this topic between Ghana and the UK is the research gap the writer seeks to attempt to bridge.
The Research Problem
The problems associated with solid waste disposal in Ghana largely relate to;
Problems associated with indiscriminate dumping/fly-tipping;
Increasing difficulties with acquiring suitable disposal sites;
Difficulties with transportation of solid waste by road due to increasing traffic problems and the lack of alternative route options;
Deficiency in modern practicable methods of solid waste disposal
Lack of commitment on the part of the governments to commit sufficient financial resource to identify environmentally friendly methods.
Difficulty in accessing domestic waste from homes due to lack of poor community planning.
Over dependant on landfill as the only method of solid waste disposal.
Research Aim and Objectives
The Aim of the Research
The general Aim of this research is to investigate or study sustainable and environmentally acceptable methods of waste disposal in Ghana and the UK and comparing the outcome the two countries.
The Objectives of the Research
The following objectives are formulated in order to answer the above research questions;
To investigate landfill as a solid waste disposal method.
To examine incineration as a solid waste disposal method.
To study composting, recycle and reuse as a solid waste disposal method.
The aims and objective stated above will be investigated using only secondary data for the purpose of this research.
Relevance of Research
The significance of the research cannot be underestimated. It will provide a useful guide to policy makers in selecting the most efficient and effective method of solid waste disposal in the country as a whole. And also form the basis for comparison in choosing sustainable solid waste disposal method for a particular situation.
This research seeks to investigate solid waste disposal methods in general, analyzing and comparing the adopted methods and how it is practice in Ghana and the United Kingdom. The relevance of the research is as follows:
Academia
Increases in the stock of useful knowledge
Enhancement of problem solving capacity
Supply of skilled graduate and researchers
Policy formulation.
Creation of new scientific instrumentation and methodologies
Creation of new firms
Industry
Change in approach to doing things
Identification and creation of new department
Realization of potential business opportunities
Social benefit
Provision of general knowledge
Research Programme
Item No.
Key Task / Activities
Target Date
Progress
01
Research Title
Selection of Research Topic
10th June, 2012
Done
Milestone
9th June, 2012
Done
02
Research Proposal
Development of Research Topic to Research Proposal
17th July, 2012
Done
03
Draft Report
Development of the outline of the report and first two chapters and submission.
6th September, 2012
In-progress
Milestone
3th September, 2012
Literature review
1st -30th September,2012
04
Literature review
Literature review
30th September, 2012
05
Literature review
Literature review
18th October, 2012
06
Summary conclusion and recommendation
15th November, 2012
07
Final Research Report
Submission of Final Report
15th -30th November, 2012
Milestone
25th November, 2012
TION AT THE UN CONFER
