Residents of Nsumia, where a newly commissioned waste disposal site is located, are calling for regular fumigation exercise to prevent a possible outbreak of diseases in the area.

The residents said though the Waste Landfills Company, managers of the site carry out fumigation exercise on the site, it was important to extend the exercise to their immediate surroundings frequently.

Assemblyman for Nsumia, Nicholas Nana Adjei, said for the past six months that the site has been operating, the company has not been forthcoming with a long term plan on how to manage the site.

The Assemblyman made the comments during a mass spraying exercise in the area recently.

The Waste Landfills Company, on its part, explained the fumigation exercise was aimed at killing houseflies and reducing the stench emanating from the dump site.

Operations Manager for the Waste Landfills Company, Richard Omani-Mensah, explained the mass fumigation exercise formed part of long-term efforts to ensure that the community was not affected negatively by the location of the site.

In order to effectively manage waste disposal in Accra, the Nsumia landfill site was made available to the waste management companies operating in the metropolis.

The site, located in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality, off the Accra Nsawam highway, is about 680,000 cubic metres and will serve Accra and its surrounding areas.

The landfill site was estimated to last for four years but according to Omani-Mensah, the amount of garbage dumped at the site daily has shortened the projected life span of the site.

Currently, the facility takes more than a 1,000 tonnes of solid waste daily.