The Chief Resilience Officer for Accra, Desmond Appiah is calling for the establishment of more Waste Transfer stations in the capital to help in waste management.

 Such stations he believed will ease the pressure on landfill sites in the capital as well mitigate or prevent waste disposal related diseases 

 He made the comment during a familiarization tour of Zoomlion’s Waste Transfer Station at Achimota, a suburb of Accra.

The tour, which had officials from 100 Resilient Cities (100RC), Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and DALBERG all attending, was to learn at first-hand the operations at the waste transfer station and the challenges it faces in managing waste in the capital.

 Addressing journalists and stakeholders, Desmond Appiah, called for the operational hours at the station  to be extended into the night in order to make it possible for incoming waste management vehicles who operate at night. 

“I am confident we can liaise with your management to help resolve strategic and operational challenges facing the station to move the Waste Transfer Station to the next stage.  

“In a larger scheme of things, the solution that we see is a win- win for the city because the distances are shorter because people can dispose of their waste quickly, go back and collect what they have to collect.”

I asked about the operational time because we have had concerns especially with the trucks that come from the city. When they go the landfill sites and finish at night, sometime 9:00pm the transfer station is closed. So these guys now have to go back and pack vehicles and wait for the time these transfer stations will be opened.”

 Commissioned for business by the Mayor, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, in May 2017, the Waste Transfer Station serves as a transit point for waste collected from other parts of the city before they are finally disposed of at approved landfill sites across the city after treatment.

 The Chief Engineer at the station, Mr Haruna Sulley also underscored the need for the opening of similar facilities across the capital and even the nation at large.

 He said the positive impact of the Waste Transfer Station in Accra is tremendous.

 “With Accra generating about 4,000 tonnes of waste daily, this system simplifies the operations [in waste management]. We are calling for more of such stations to be built across the station,” the Chief Engineer noted.

 Asked whether there will be a time for waste segregation, [division of waste into dry and organic or wet waste] Mr Appiah admitted it will take a while before that process will be introduced. He however called for opening more recycling plants in the city and the country at large as a means to achieving this.

 He further noted that education is also another means through which waste segregation will be enhanced as he revealed that his outfit has started rolling out measures to sensitize students through their recently launched “School Segregation Program”. 

 Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation, 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) is helping Accra and other cities around the world become more resilient to social, economic, and physical challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. Practically, the initiative is ongoing to guarantee Accra becomes more resilient to shocks and stresses such as fires, earthquakes, floods, disease outbreaks and infrastructure and building collapse that weaken the fabric of a city.