The Executive Secretary of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Ama Ofori Antwi, has called for comprehensive stakeholder engagement and proper mapping before the government establishes waste transfer stations across the country.

She said although the proposal to locate stations at five-kilometre intervals had merit, applying that spacing without considering local conditions could create overcrowding and nuisance in surrounding communities.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Mrs Ofori Antwi questioned whether sufficient land would be available for the proposed facilities.

She explained that landowners were unlikely to release properties for waste transfer stations, particularly where the facilities would be situated close to their homes or within their immediate surroundings.

Her comments came during a discussion on Ghana’s waste management challenges following proposals by the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, to expand waste transfer infrastructure.

"The Honourable Minister wants a situation whereby every five kilometres, there will be a transfer station, it is impossible, it will be overpopulated and it will even become a nuisance, and the truth is you will not even get the land to do it," she said.

Mrs Ofori Antwi said the government should engage relevant stakeholders and map out suitable locations, allowing population density and the needs of communities to guide decisions.

She recommended prioritising densely populated areas, rather than relying on a uniform five-kilometre spacing to determine where stations should be built.

"That is why I am proposing that we should have proper stakeholder engagement and have the mapping. We will do mapping on the ground; where the densely populated areas require transfer stations, we will have them there," she noted.

The minister has given Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives 30 days to identify sites measuring at least one acre for waste transfer stations.

Announcing the directive on Saturday, October 3, 2026, during a National Sanitation Day exercise at Rawlings Park in Accra, Mr Ayariga said the facilities would form part of an integrated approach to waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling.