Solid waste collection and disposal problems in Accra, like most cities in sub- ... In 1985, as a result of escalating waste management crisis in Accra, the Waste.
Closing the Loop Community-Based Organic Solid Waste Recycling, Urban Gardening, and Land Use Planning in Ghana, West Africa
Raymond Asomani-Boateng
Abstract Accra, Ghana’s capital, has solid waste collection and disposal problems that, like most cities in Africa, are concentrated in poor residential neighborhoods. Efforts to improve solid waste management have focused on improving solid waste collection. A practical, low-cost concept that has not been explored is recycling organic solid waste into compost for urban cultivation. This research explored the feasibility of recycling organic solid waste into urban cultivation as a sustainable waste-management strategy in low-income neighborhoods. The main hypothesis of this study is that a significant proportion of solid waste can be diverted from inefficient disposal by redirecting the organic fraction into urban cultivation. The study revealed that wastebased urban cultivation could significantly reduce quantities of organic solid waste for disposal, and minimize waste collection and disposal cost. Challenges to implementing the concept include overcoming the issue of land availability and motivating stakeholders to initiate, implement, and sustain such projects. Keywords: sustainable urban development; land use planning; waste reuse urban civilization
Raymond Asomani-Boateng is an assistant professor of environmental planning in the Urban and Regional Studies Institute at Minnesota State University. His research focuses on urban agriculture, organic solid waste recycling, land use planning, indigenous African urban forms, and sustainable urban development.
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olid waste collection and disposal problems in Accra, like most cities in sub-Saharan Africa, are confined to poor and high-density residential neighborhoods. For economic, physical, and political reasons, these areas do not have access to a host of municipal services; critical among such services is solid waste collection and disposal. The waste generated within these neighborhoods is left uncollected and dumped into drains, streams, and open spaces (Asomani-Boateng and Haight 1998). The responsibility for solid waste management in these communities falls to the female members of households, who see to it that household waste is stored and disposed of at community dumps and spaces, or to neighborhood groups, who occasionally respond to unsightly dumps and drains by organizing residents to clean dumps and choked drains.
䉴 Municipal Solid Waste Management in Accra Municipal services have been introduced in Accra since 1877 when Accra became the capital and seat of government for the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Municipal services involved the provision of street lighting by paraffin lamps, the construction of drains, establishment of cemeteries, elimination of garbage from streets, and the provision of clean drinking water (Dickson 1969). In 1898, the Accra Municipal Council was established under the provisions of the Town Council Ordinance of 1894 to provide services in the form of water supply, market and slaughter house facilities, refuse and sanitation, and open spaces and street maintenance (Acquah 1958). After independence in 1957, the provision of urban municipal services continued to be the responsibility of the Accra City Council and solid waste management came under the control of the Chief Medical Officer and the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Accra City Council. In 1985, as a result of escalating waste management crisis in Accra, the Waste Management Department (WMD) was created with German Technical Aid to manage waste in Accra (Asomani-Boateng 1994; Asomani-Boateng and Haight 1998; African Development Bank 2002). Section 51 (1) of the Local Government Law of 1988 (PNDC Law 207) empowers the WMD to manage the city’s waste. The WMD is empowered to raise and retain revenues through direct user charges. Municipal solid waste generation rates in the city kept rising; in 1994, with a population of 1 million, the city generated Journal of Planning Education and Research 27:132-145 DOI: 10.1177/0739456X07306392 © 2007 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
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approximately 750–800 tons of refuse per day (AsomaniBoateng and Haight 1999). At present, municipal solid waste generated in the city averages 1,500 tons per day (African Development Bank 2002). The main sources of waste generation are residential, commercial (markets, shops, restaurants, and hotels), industrial, and institutional (hospitals and schools). Restaurants and markets in the city generate 60,000 cubic meters of organic solid waste every year. By weight, domestic solid waste accounts for 85 percent of the city’s municipal solid waste stream; while the remaining 15 percent is accounted for by commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors (AsomaniBoateng and Haight 1999). Over 360,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year is available for composting (African Development Bank 2002). However, only 200 tons of organic solid waste is retrieved daily and composted at the city’s composting facility at Teshie Nungua (Asomani-Boateng 1994; African Development Bank 2002). Three hundred tons of municipal solid wastes generated daily are left uncollected (African Development Bank 2002). Existing solid waste management practices that emphasize collection, transportation, and final disposal by the city’s WMD and private waste collectors have been ineffective. As described by Ghana’s vice president, “high rise refuse dumps, littered streets, choked gutters, stagnant waters, and indiscriminate defecation in public and open spaces have become common features in our cities” (Issah 2006). To manage the mounting solid waste management crisis, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has declared war against filth (Ghana News Agency 2006a). Led by the AMA chief executive, the war on filth has involved the residents, community groups, businesses, and politicians contributing cash, labor, and equipment to rid the city of waste. To sustain the war on filth, the city has enacted a bylaw to set aside one Saturday of each month as “Health Day” for all able-bodied youth and adults to clean their neighborhoods (Ghana News Agency 2006b). Managing the city’s waste is indeed a challenge. The environmental and health risks posed by mismanaged wastes in Accra and other African cities are well known (Amuzu and Leitmann 1991; Stephens and Harpham 1992; Songsore and McGranahan 1993; Yeboah-Afari 1996; Asomani-Boateng and Haight 1998). Various projects involving community-based groups and micro-enterprises to improve waste management in poor and high-density neighborhoods in African cities have focused on solid waste collection (Meyer 1994; Pfammatter and Schertenleib 1996). A practical, low-cost concept for managing solid household organic waste in low-income, high-density residential neighborhoods that has not been properly explored is the composting of household organic solid waste. This practice would enhance urban food and vegetable cultivation. As shown elsewhere in this article, the organic component of the waste stream in Accra is significant, and the organic fraction of the solid waste generated in high-density residential areas of Accra, Ghana’s capital city, ranges from 60 to 90 percent (AsomaniBoateng and Haight 1999). Hence, composting offers a feasible alternative for substantially reducing waste volumes in these
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communities. Urban gardening in Accra is intensive and requires the farmer cultivating the same piece of land for a long period. Because of the intensive nature of production, the inherent soil fertility alone cannot sustain the high production levels. In addition, soils in Accra are salty and poorly drained and become degraded after a few years of cultivation (Adiku et al. 2002). Constant addition of organic matter in the form of compost is, therefore, vital to sustain the fertility of Accra’s soil to be able to withstand intensive farming and increase crop yield.
䉴 Administrative/Organizational Structure and Governance of Accra Accra, derived from the Akan word “nkran” meaning “an army of ants” (Tetteh and Botchwey 1989), was discovered by the Ga ethnic group in the sixteenth century (Plan Consult 1989). The city began as three separate fishing villages: James Town, Ussher Town, and Osu (Dickson and Benneh 1977). In 1877, Accra became the capital of the Gold Coast, now Ghana, when the seat of the British administration (the sole colonial power) was moved from Cape Coast to Accra. Since then, the city has experienced continuous growth in population. The population of Accra grew rapidly from 16,000 in 1891 to 42,000 in 1921; 136,000 in 1948; and 953,000 in 1984 (Odame-Larbi 1996). In 2000, Accra’s population was 1.9 million with an annual population growth rate of 4.4 percent (Mega-Cities Project 2000). Within the framework of decentralized development planning, the Local Government Act 1993 (Act 462) and its Legislative Instrument, 1994 (LI 1589) established the “administrative district” (Accra Metropolitan Assembly [AMA]) as the focal point of planning activity (ISSER 2000). The AMA covers sixty-eight electoral areas that have been grouped under the six submetropolitan districts of Ablekuma, Okaikwei, Ayawaso, Asiedu-Keteke, Osu Klottey, and Kphesie (Ministry of Local Government 1996). The AMA is a corporate body and the highest political and administrative organ in Accra. The AMA has legislative, deliberative, and executive functions. These functions include the provision of sound sanitary and healthy environment, educational infrastructure for the first and second cycle schools, markets and lorry parks within the metropolis, planning and development control of all infrastructure within Accra, activities bordering on the maintenance of peace and security within the Metropolis, and public safety and comfort (Grant and Yankson 2003). Each submetropolitan district is responsible for overall district development. Managing waste is a joint effort between the district and the waste management department.
䉴 Research Goal and Objectives This research project was undertaken to identify and explore the concept of directing household organic solid
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waste into urban gardening by community residents through community-based composting in low-income communities in Accra, Ghana. The case study on Christian Village will be used. The main hypothesis of the study is that a significant proportion of solid waste generated in high-density neighborhoods in Accra can be diverted from inefficient disposal methods by composting the organic fraction for urban gardening. Recycling or composting of household organic solid waste into compost for urban cultivation has the potential to generate jobs and income for unemployed residents in lowincome, high-density residential neighborhoods. In this research, a definition of urban farming and urban gardening needs to be established. Urban farming includes the cultivation of crops and trees, raising of livestock, and fisheries within and in peri-urban locations of cities. Urban gardening involves the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and food, within and in peri-urban areas of cities.
to community residents who rely on themselves to improve the conditions in their community. However, the success of such community efforts depends on total community involvement or participation. There exists no clear consensus about the concept and, thus, community participation is used in various ways with different meanings (Moser 1989; Desai 1994). Paul (1987) defines community participation as “an active process by which the community influences the direction and execution of a development project to enhance their well-being in terms of income, personal growth, self reliance, or other values they cherish” (Paul 1987, 35). Community participation, for example, is far more than the contribution of resources (labor, money, and supplies); it involves participating in the decisionmaking process to identify community problems, and designing and implementing strategies to address these problems. This results in the community taking responsibility for, and ownership of, its own development.
䉴 Theoretical Framework
䉴 Community Participation in Ghana: A Historical Analysis
The concept of community development and community involvement or participation formed the theoretical basis of this study. The term community carries a wide range of possible meanings that are often broad and imprecise. To avoid the difficulties inherent to the concept of community, a more practical definition of the concept is employed, which can be used for urban environmental improvement projects. In this study, a community refers to a group living in a specific geographical or administrative area, for example, a neighborhood, which has access to and uses the same service (Anschutz 1996, 14). Emphasis is on the geographical-based connotation of the concept. According to Ferguson and Dickens (1999, 58), “Community development is asset building that enhances the quality of life of residents in low- to moderate-income communities, where communities are defined as neighborhood or multi-neighborhood area(s).” Both authors categorize assets into “physical (buildings, land, tools, and so forth), financial (all standard forms of financial wealth), intellectual and human (individual skills, knowledge, and confidence), social (formal and informal relationships, cultural norms, and shared understanding), and political (the capacity to exert political influence)” (Ferguson and Dickens 1999, 58). Asset building is a broad concept that is not limited to physical and economic development but encompasses housing and property development, workforce development, business development, security and safety, education and youth development, health, religion, arts and recreation, community planning, and advocacy. In this study, the term community development encompasses the efforts of residents in deprived, low-income, and high-density communities to improve their economic, social, political, and environmental conditions through all types of service delivery; that is, the “quality of life.” The emphasis is given
Generally, community participation is not new to Ghana or Africa because it has been utilized to address diverse problems in cities, towns, villages, and rural communities. The Omanadwuma1 concept common in Akan2 areas of Ghana has been used by rural and urban communities to build schools, health clinics, and roads, as well as to provide sanitation services in the form of waste disposal and collection. In spite of the critical role that community involvement played in managing Ghanaian towns in precolonial times, such concept was downplayed in the management of town and city in colonial and postcolonial Ghana for various reasons discussed in this study. While the community’s role in urban management has been recognized, attempts to exploit and tap its potential as a management concept are now being pursued by both local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Similarly, the negligence of the importance of community as a resource is because of the policies and programs of colonial and postcolonial administrations in Ghana. For example, the British Colonial Administration viewed city management as the domain of local government. During this period, managing British cities to effectively address these problems became the sole prerogative of municipal and local governments. Good health was considered dependent on proper urban sanitation. Achieving this required the establishment of a centralized body to plan, provide, and manage municipal services (Asomani-Boateng and Haight 1998). Influenced by their experiences in city management in the United Kingdom, British colonial administrators adopted the public sector approach to managing cities in Anglophone Africa. In Accra, Ghana, this was accomplished by establishing the Accra Municipal Council which provided sanitation services.
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No effort was made to utilize the community-based urban management strategies, employed by communities in Accra, for city management. Initially, the public sector approach was effective as an urban management strategy because the population of the city was small and the colonial government had the financial and technical resources to subsidize and provide urban services for the city’s residents. Through time, however, urban residents mistakenly came to view the provision of city services as “free” services—services that had to be provided by the government regardless of cost. To date, this perception still prevails in the minds of the majority of Ghana’s urban population. Most residents refuse to take the initiative to manage their surroundings for the simple reason that its aban asem3—community involvement and the Ghanaian participatory spirit based on cooperation and shared responsibility have not been nurtured. It should be pointed out that postcolonial government involvement in urban management was undertaken not only to improve efficiency but also to consolidate political control. With the newly gained freedom, the first post-independence government under Nkrumah (Ghana’s first president) promised to do more than its predecessor (colonial government) did in terms of providing for the needs of the citizenry. Nkrumah focused on a centralized administration based on central planning that reflected his political philosophy: “Seek ye first the political kingdom, and all else shall be added unto you.” (Oliver and Atmore 2005, 307). The rationale behind centralization was that the central government had the financial, technical, and manpower resources to provide for the needs of Ghanaians in both rural and urban areas. Hence, there was no effort on the part of national, regional, and local levels of government to promote and sustain existing community-based strategies and initiatives, which were used to provide for most of the needs of rural and urban communities, especially sanitation services. In an ethnically diverse country like Ghana, to promote community-based strategies based only on ethnicity would lead to the disintegration of the aspiring model country (Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence). In the past four decades, the government’s inability to provide basic services, because of financial constraints, has led to calls by opinion leaders, politicians, NGOs, city governments, and traditional chiefs to promote community participation where community-based strategies could be used as a means to address the critical problems facing Ghana’s urban residents. It is also important to mention the role of neighborhood or community groups in managing the neighborhoods in Accra. The 441 Nima Welfare Association of Nima, the Alpha Expedition of Labadi, and La Mansaamo Kpee (LMK) are community groups in Accra, which over the years have been involved in refuse collection and provision of public facilities in their respective communities (Syagga and LeeSmith 1989; Asomani-Boateng 1994). These groups were
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formed in the 1980s in response to the poor sanitation and refuse disposal within their respective communities. With contributions in labor and cash, these groups were able to provide services in the form of waste collection and public places of convenience.
Study Area Christian Village, a poor, high-density neighborhood in Accra with a population of approximately 2,500 (at the time of the study) was selected as the study area (Figure 1). It is a migrant community that evolved in the 1950s and 1960s and was settled by the Ewe ethnic group from the Volta region of Ghana, Togo, and Benin, with a significant proportion of residents which were either unemployed or underemployed. Those who are employed work within the informal sector as petty traders, mechanics, stone crackers, and urban vegetable cultivators. The village covers an area of about 20 hectares with 130 persons per hectare, compared with the overall city density of about 69.3 persons per hectare (Mega-Cities Project 2000). In Christian Village, there is a chief assisted by the elders, youth, women, and community groups in managing the community. Decisions on critical issues are based on wide discussions and consultations with elders, representatives of youth, women, and community groups. Access to sanitation and waste disposal facilities is very limited because such facilities are inadequate. Christian Village claims only two public toilets for a community of 2,500 residents. The community is not covered by the city’s waste collection services. Therefore, open burning and dumping are common strategies used to manage wastes generated by households in the community. There are six open dumps in the community. Christian Village boasts active, dynamic youth, female, and community groups who jointly maintain the community by organizing cleanups of open waste dumps, weeding, and desilting drainage channels. Membership of these groups is open to residents of Christian Village; hence, members are mainly residents of the community. Through their initiative, they have constructed two public toilets and have succeeded in extending electrical power to the community. Furthermore, these groups’ participation in the development of their community includes material, financial, and physical contributions for the implementation of development projects in the community. Relationships between these groups and the community in general with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, specifically the Waste Management Department, is not very cordial. Community groups view the city authority, which is the service provider, as having neglected them in the provision of waste management services Christian Village was selected as the unit for investigation and analysis because it is a community with immense waste collection and disposal problems. It is a stable community with a
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Figure 1. Study area.
significant number of its residents engaged in urban cultivation, and it has well-organized, dynamic community groups dedicated to improve the community’s environment.
Research Method A participatory research framework based on a pilot project approach was used in this study. Emphasis was on action research strategies designed to involve major actors (households, urban cultivators, community groups, women and youth groups, and opinion leaders) to develop techniques and skills in recycling household organic waste into compost and using the compost as soil conditioner in urban cultivation. The rationale was based on the fact that these critical actors, having had the experience and training, will be able to continue recycling their waste into urban cultivation as a permanent waste management strategy to address waste management problems in the community. Action research emphasizes collaboration between researchers and practitioners (Avision et al. 1999; Avision, Baskerville, and Myers 2001). Action research, as defined by Rapaport (1970), aims to address the practical concerns of
people in an immediate problematic situation. It focuses on addressing problems through collaboration (Root-Bernstein 1989). Avision, Baskerville, and Myers (2001) categorizes action research projects into research-driven initiation and problemdriven initiation. In research-driven initiation, the action researcher is in possession of a theoretical approach to address problem situations and look for settings that are burdened by such problems. In problem-driven initiation, practitioners might be confronted by a seemingly insurmountable problem; they seek help from theoretical specialists to address such a problem. In such a situation, researchers have to develop researches that will address the problem. This study uses the research-driven approach: the author, a specialist in waste management, urban agriculture, and land use planning, uses theories and concepts in these areas to address solid waste problems in high-density, poor communities in Accra. This study, funded by Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC), was initiated by the author in 1998 through consultations, informal and formal meetings, discussions with community groups, opinion leaders, and women and youth groups to explain the concepts of composting and urban gardening. This research differs from conventional research wherein data on a certain group of people or a community is
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collected, analyzed, and solutions are prescribed to the problems identified but the solutions are not implemented. This study approach called for resident participation to gain experience, acquire skills, be independent, make decisions, and take actions that would sustain and ensure the continuation of the project.
Processes and Procedures The pilot project had two components: a source-separation component and a composting project. Source separation or segregation is the systematic division of solid waste into designated categories at the point of production or generation. In recycling organic solid waste into compost, source separation becomes critical to prevent contamination from commingled hazardous and nonhazardous wastes. Thus, source separation prevents health risks associated with composting contaminated waste while producing high-quality compost. Composting is the biological decomposition of organic wastes under controlled conditions. This biological process involves the breakdown of organic substances by bacteria, worms, and other organisms into humus. Control of temperature, airflow, and moisture to varying degrees are required to ensure optimal conditions during composting. Once complete, the humus is an excellent soil conditioner, free of pathogens.
Source-Separation Process Initiating the source-separation and composting components of the project involved consultation and discussions with the chief and elders of the community, youth, women’s groups, households, farmers, and representatives from the city’s WMD. The personnel of the WMD were invited to observe the process and to motivate them to accept and appreciate the critical role neighborhoods or communities could play in the management of waste in the city and the need to involve communities in the management of waste. It should be emphasized that community participation in managing the city’s waste is lacking. During the consultation process, which was initiated by the author and three opinion leaders in the community, the objectives and challenges of the project were introduced and explained to residents of the community. The chief and elders of the community, after consulting with community groups, asked volunteers to visit various homes to explain the project and identify households that were willing to participate. Eight volunteers went from house to house to explain the purpose of the project. Women were targeted because of their roles as household managers. Forty households, out of the community’s 300, volunteered to participate in the project.
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The author and the eight volunteers visited participating households and demonstrated separation of wastes into compostables (food and kitchen waste and animal droppings) and noncompostable (plastics and metals, wood and hazardous waste, such as batteries, razors, and broken glass). Two big plastic containers were placed in the community’s market. These were placed in the care of the Market and Commodity Queens4 who, in turn, instructed the sellers of compostable products to dump the waste from these items into the containers. The chief and his elders, women from participating households, three farmers living in the community, and the chairman of the community development committee volunteered to manage the project. The specific roles to be performed by the participating groups were also defined. A site for household waste composting was selected and participating households source-separated their household organic solid waste and deposited the waste at the designated composting site every morning.
Composting Process Within four weeks, three and one-half tons of compostable household and market waste were generated from participating households and the community market. Using a simple windrow aerobic composting technique, the heap was manually formed, sprayed with a cow dung solution, watered, and turned periodically for aeration and fermentation using voluntary labor. (See Figures 2, 3, and 4.) The heap, which measured 10 x 10 x 3 ft, was insulated with a layer of soil approximately ten inches thick and turned every week to ensure aeration, minimize odor, prevent attracting flies to the heap, and retain heat in the compost pile. The cow dung solution is a rich source of nitrogen to which bacteria were added to hasten decomposition. Within a period of nine weeks, the heap had matured into compost.
Compost Quality The analysis of the compost produced from the communitybased composting project indicates the compost to be of very high quality. Table 1 indicates the major nutrient content of the compost produced from the community composting pilot project. Organic matter content is the measure of carbon-based materials in compost. Organic matter content is typically expressed as a percentage of dry weight. Organic matter is an important ingredient in all soils and plays and important role in soil structure, nutrient availability, and water-holding capacity. There is no ideal organic matter content for compost; it varies widely from 30 to 70 percent. Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K), are the three most critical nutrients utilized
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Figure 2. The author watering the compost heap. (Credit: Raymond Asomani-Boateng)
Figure 3. Community volunteers turning the compost pile. (Credit: Raymond Asomani-Boateng)
by plants. In compost, the nutrient content may be expressed on a dry or wet weight basis. The pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, pH of 7 indicates neutrality, below 7 indicates alkalinity, and above 7 indicates acidity. Compost usually has a pH of between 6 and 8. Intensive
cultivation of available land continuously diminishes the fertility of the land. Continuous tillage reduces soil respiration and infiltration rate. Higher respiration rates indicate better soil quality. Infiltration is important for inducting water into the soil profile for plant growth and for reducing runoff and erosion.
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However, volunteers who were involved in the composting activities and acquired composting skills, have formed into groups, composting for some wealthy individuals in the city. This raises two issues: land availability and tenure to land. These issues are discussed under the section on land use planning.
䉴 Findings The findings of this community-based, waste reuse urban gardening project are examined in the context of participation, waste recovery, diversion of waste from the waste stream, and issues and challenges in promoting waste-based urban cultivation as a sustainable solid waste management strategy.
Participation It was observed that only twenty-eight households out of the forty were regularly source-separating their waste into compostables and noncompostables; the remaining participants, on several occasions, mixed both streams together and dumped them at the composting site. Some of these households maintained it because it was their first time to separate waste and they were unfamiliar with the practice. In some households, children were responsible for dumping household waste at the dump, and these children found it cumbersome to make two trips to the dump—sending the noncompostable waste to the dump and the compostable waste to the composting site. To avoid making two trips, they would mix both streams and dump it at the composting site. This problem of mixing the two streams was common in households that had to send their source-separated waste to the composting site. In households where volunteers picked up the source-separated waste, and in those where the elderly women were responsible for conveying the waste to the composting site, this problem was very minimal. These findings raise issues about the following: (1) which collection techniques to adopt; (2) where to locate composting sites; (3) what is an acceptable distance from sources of generation to composting sites; and (4) who will assume the various tasks. All participants complained about the lack of incentives that might discourage residents from participating in the project in the future. A follow-up informal discussion with the participants about what would motivate them to continue, as well as what would attract other households in the community to
Figure 4. An urban gardener standing on a compost heap he has built. (Credit: Raymond Asomani-Boateng)
Table 1. Composition of Compost. Substance Organic Matter Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium pH
Measure (%) 30.0 1.3 7.8 1.7 7.7
Source: Survey data (1998).
Management practices for increasing soil infiltration rates include increasing the organic matter content of the soil. Hence, compost use by urban gardeners as a soil conditioner is ideal to sustain soil fertility.
Status of the Research Project In 2005, seven years after the implementation of the research project, various problems have emerged which threaten its sustainability. The composting site and about 80 percent of the land on which the farmers cultivate have been developed into residences by their owners, hence displacing the farmers and leading to the discontinuation of the composting operations.
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participate in a similar project, confirmed the need to provide incentives, preferably financial. Even though participants were aware of the environmental and health impacts of the project, they were less enthusiastic about these impacts than they were about the economic benefits to be derived from the project. The participants explained that they were poor, did not have stable jobs, and for them, life in the community and the city as a whole was a daily struggle. To spend one’s precious time source-separating and composting waste, which was time-consuming, without any benefit aside from environmental and health reasons, was an exercise not worth pursuing. Such an activity involves extra work, time, and effort for the individual to participate. As one resident said, “We have lived in this filth for many years, we know it’s horrible but we have gotten used to it, and if we are to act, we have to be motivated to continue participating.” Also, some participants believed that their actions produced very minimal impact on the waste situation.
Utilization of Produced Compost Arriving at a consensus as to the utilization of the two and a half tons of compost produced was problematic. The farmers demanded to use the compost on their farms, while other participants—householders, volunteers, and other community groups opted to sell the compost and share the proceeds. After a series of consultations involving the participants and the head of the community, it was agreed that three-quarters of the compost should be sold and the proceeds deposited into the community’s development fund, with the remaining third given to farmers for their crops. Clearly, environmental benefits alone are not enough to sustain community-based composting projects. Rather, economic benefits to be derived from participating in such projects are critical to the sustainability of such projects. Few studies have been done to assess the demand or market for compost in Ghana’s urban areas. These studies reveal that compost users include: vegetable farmers, staple crop farmers, fruit farmers, ornamental farmers, landscapers, and estate developers. Mensah, Olufunke, and Montangero (2003) revealed in their study on co-composting of fecal sludge and solid waste in Kumasi, that while there is high demand for compost in Kumasi, farmers are only willing to offer low prices for compost because of availability of cheap alternatives. They concluded that co-composting could be an effective component of an integrated waste management system; however, the sustainability of such an approach requires a good marketing strategy for compost (Mensah, Olufunke, and Montagero 2003). Dreschel and Danso (2005) reveal that most urban farmers in Ghana have a positive perception and are willing to use compost, but are only willing to pay as little as 0.2 to 2.0 USD per 50 kg bag of compost as compared to the unsubsidized price of 3 to 5 USD per 50 kg bag of good quality compost. This
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project has led some participants to form into groups and engage in composting as an enterprise, with residential developers as their market.
䉴 Lessons Learned The Christian Village waste-based urban agriculture project demonstrates the potential of an alternative strategy for sustainable waste management in Ghanaian cities and towns. It demonstrates how household organic solid waste can be recycled and utilized in urban gardening, thus, significantly reducing the quantities of household waste to be disposed of at community dumps. The challenges in implementing the concept include overcoming the issues of land availability and motivating stakeholders to initiate and sustain the project. Low-income, highdensity neighborhoods make urban waste collection and recycling a particularly pressing problem. Identifying and designating suitable locations for waste collection and recycling within these neighborhoods poses an enormous challenge. Community-based interventions of this nature should be incentive driven. In other words, major actors or stakeholders that initiate, implement, maintain, and sustain community-based composting programs should be rewarded. A communitybased composting project could be a viable income-generating activity in Ghana’s urban areas since a potential market for compost exists. Interventions that depend on altruistic motivations without providing tangible benefits will be difficult to sustain. The project demonstrates that strong community support and dedicated community groups and their leaders are critical to the success and sustainability of community-based composting projects.
Planning Implications: The “How” Question, Toward an Operational Framework for Waste-Based Urban Cultivation This project has demonstrated that there is potential in the wise exploitation of links between community-based composting and urban cultivation and waste management. This strategy, if implemented, could reduce waste collection and disposal problems while managing resources and assisting low-income urban Ghanaians. A wide range of activities are involved in promoting wastebased urban gardening, which include the source separation of organic solid waste; the storage, collection, and composting of organic solid waste; and the application of compost by urban gardeners. All these activities have to be planned and managed and require the participation of many actors. A conceptual framework for promoting waste-based urban gardening has been developed by the author. The components of the framework are examined below.
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Land Use/Spatial Planning
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As revealed by the composting project, land is the single most important factor in the promotion of waste-based urban cultivation. Tenure rights and availability of suitable land in suitable locations are important factors to be considered in providing the means for urban cultivation and the composting of organic solid waste. For socioeconomic reasons, farmers in Accra tend to farm in areas that are close to their homes and where water is available (Asomani-Boateng 2002; Obuobie 2003). Farming areas in the city include vacant and open spaces, and peri-urban areas which are being converted into residential and industrial uses (Odame-Larbi 1996; AsomaniBoateng 2002). Peri-urban agricultural lands are being converted for urban use at an estimated rate of around 6,000 ha per year (Fobih 2004). Land ownership in the city falls under public (state land), private, and customary lands. AsomaniBoateng (2002) categorizes farming in Accra into household, open or vacant space, and peri-urban. The majority of periurban and open or vacant space cultivators do not own land on which they farm, however, most household cultivators own land on which they farm (Obuobie 2003; Asomani-Boateng 2002). Access to land is through formal and informal arrangements with public, private, and customary entities. Since the supply of land in the city is through these institutions, their active participation in the land use planning process is imperative to effectively address the land issue and to designate suitable locations for farming and composting in the city. Furthermore, this composting pilot project has revealed that the close proximity of composting sites to communities enhances participation in household source-separation and community composting projects. Thus, successful community composting projects are those that are located close to the users of compost. Close proximity reduces the transportation cost, which is a major constraint to compost use in developing countries—compost is bulky and thus costly to transport over long distances. Furthermore, in a city where public transportation is not efficient and traffic congestion constrains the movement of people in the form of delays, farmers are likely to lose many man-hours needed on their farms. Close proximity also minimizes the incidence of theft on farms because farmers must police their farms. Spatial land use planning that integrates residential communities with farming areas in a coherent and efficient physical form is required. To facilitate the promotion of the Waste Reuse Urban Cultivation (WRUC) concept, it is proposed that WRUC zones be created within the city and peri-urban areas of the city. The vision of the WRUC or waste-based urban cultivation is based on what Esrey et al. (1998) have termed ecological waste management and resource conservation, which is premised on three fundamental principles:
•
rendering organic solid waste safe preventing pollution rather than remediating it after it has occurred using compost for agricultural purposes
The WRUC approach is a cycle: a sustainable, closed-loop system. It is resource based and treats and views organic solid waste as a resource. Source-separated organic solid waste from homes and institutions is composted in WRUC zones and the resulting compost is then recycled into cultivation, which takes place within the same zone. Asomani-Boateng and Haights (1999) Household, Neighborhood and Dumpsite model should serve as a basis for designating WRUC zones in the city. Spaces within and around homes, especially in medium- and low-density sectors could be devoted to gardening and composting of the household organic solid waste. Portions of existing open spaces within neighborhoods should be designated as WRUC zones, while dumpsites in high-density residential areas can be converted into waste-based urban cultivation zones. In proposed residential and industrial subdivisions, WRUC zones should be designated.
Education In Accra, as in most African cities, there has been little emphasis to date on public education as an urban management tool. The importance of education cannot be underestimated because, as this project has revealed, households, farmers, and waste generators are not familiar with the concepts of source separation and waste composting. Urban residents harbor many myths about waste-based urban cultivation. These include the idea that farming does not constitute an urban activity and the negative perception about food nourished by waste (UNDP 1996). Education is required to debunk such myths; to teach people about source separation and composting; and to seek public participation and cooperation in promoting waste-based urban cultivation as an urban management strategy. Within the context of wastebased urban gardening, one should ask several questions: What are the goals and objectives of any education program? Who are the participants and stakeholders? What education techniques should be adopted and used? The author views that any education program should strive to: •
•
inform city officials and urban residents about the benefits to be derived from waste-based urban cultivation and to demonstrate how the negative impacts of waste-based urban cultivation can be addressed and alleviated through the adoption of best management practices; develop environmental awareness among urban residents, emphasizing both the positive socioeconomic outcomes and the negative environmental and health impacts of poor waste collection and disposal techniques;
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teach households, communities, neighborhoods, organizations, and institutions how to source-separate and compost waste; promote the advantages of compost over chemical fertilizers to convince farmers and potential users to use compost.
Achieving the above-stated objectives is important in implementing and sustaining the waste reuse urban cultivation strategy. Studies have shown that in most African countries, project and program proponents have failed to communicate the objectives of their plans, programs, and projects to actors and stakeholders who will be affected as a result of implementation. This has resulted in nonparticipation and subsequently to the failure of these programs and projects. Having stated the objectives of a strong educational program designed to promote waste-based urban gardening, the issue that still needs to be addressed is the type of educational techniques to adopt and implement.
Formal Education Ghana’s Ministry of Education should take a lead role by developing a waste management curriculum describing the negative impacts of improper waste collection and disposal practices as well as the benefits of waste recycling and organic waste reuse. School education should be directed toward the youth who constitute a large proportion of the Ghanaian population. They are the future householders and decisionmakers, and their values are easily influenced. Children will take their education about environmental awareness, hygiene practices, proper disposal methods, source separation, and composting into their homes. As revealed by this project, women and children are the ones who have the responsibility for disposing of household waste and attending to home gardens; hence, it is appropriate to educate these important actors. This is certainly an essential component of any society’s effort to effect change with respect to the promotion of reusing waste in urban cultivation. Unless school lessons are linked to the home and community life in some way, impact may be minimal.
Visits Visits to households, markets, institutions, and farmers to inform and educate actors about source separation and the composting of organic solid waste could lead to significant achievement in promoting waste-based urban gardening. Community health nurses in the city, whose work entails visiting households and providing education about hygiene, could also educate households on source separation and composting. National Service personnel could be trained to be part of a program to educate householders on source
separation and composting. Within the various communities and neighborhoods, leaders of existing community groups, along with development committees, could be educated about source separation and composting so that they could educate neighborhood residents about this important practice.
Demonstration Projects To include residents who do not have access to formal education, informal efforts in the form of demonstration projects must be pursued to inform and include this audience. The community composting demonstration project clearly revealed how uneducated farmers, householders, and community members can quickly learn techniques if they are clearly involved. Agricultural extension and development personnel, who are always in the field with farmers, could demonstrate composting.
Storage and Collection The need to collect and store source-separated organic solid waste is paramount to implementation of waste-based urban gardening. Separate storage and collection avoid the problem of contamination, thus, reducing health risks and enhancing the quality of compost produced. The separate storage of source-separated household organic solid waste will require the provision of storage bins to householders so that the sourceseparated waste can be collected separately. The questions are: What collection technique should be adopted on a communitywide basis to ensure efficient and effective collection of sourceseparated waste? Should permanent depots be established within the communities or neighborhoods to receive sourceseparated organic solid waste from households, which will be eventually transported to composting sites? Should mobile collection teams equipped with handcarts, wheelbarrows, or simple tractor-trailers visit every household in the morning to collect and transport the source-separated waste to composting sites (“collect system”)? Should householders transport the waste directly to composting sites (“bring system”)? Studies by Asomani-Boateng, Haight, and Furedy (1996) on community composting in Aglogloshie, Accra, and Foo Tuan Seik (1997) on recycling in Singapore, both revealed that the “collect system” is an effective method because it increases participation rates in community recycling projects. Regarding the option of creating source-separated depots within the communities, the author’s concern is that in situations where the waste is not picked up, waste heaps may pile up, creating health and environmental risks to the communities. The collection system is appropriate, but the remuneration of the collection crew must be implemented.
Closing the Loop 䉳
Marketing Marketing is an essential element in the promotion and implementation of waste-based urban cultivation. The absence of market promotion is a major constraint to compost use in Ghana and Africa in general. Despite the fact that there is a huge potential market for compost in Ghana, marketing has never been a part of the strategies of city or central government’s efforts to promote compost use in Ghana’s urban areas. It is, therefore, important to emphasize market promotion, using TV, radio, newspapers, and public demonstrations to promote compost use in Accra.
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and householders to source-separate and compost organic solid waste. Simple tools and equipment including shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, handcarts, storage bins, and protective garments are needed for source separation and composting operations. A WRUC fund should be established by each of the six subdistricts to generate funds for educational programs, source separation, and composting operations. Major generators of organic solid waste in the metropolis such as restaurants, markets and agro processing industries, environmentally conscious organizations like Green Earth, Cencosad, NGOs, and the general public, should be approached to contribute to this fund.
䉴 Conclusions Organization This research project reveals the following: The Accra metropolitan area is comprised of six subdistricts and managed by AMA. In line with the national government’s decentralization policy, the city’s waste management functions and responsibilities have been decentralized to the districts. Therefore, it is essential to operationalize the concept at the district level, where each of the six subdistricts which make up Accra will work with the Metropolitan Department of Food and Agriculture, district waste management units, neighborhood groups, farmers associations, district planners, agricultural extension officers, community elders, clan heads, and chiefs to initiate action to implement the WRUC concept. The organizational framework as outlined is not meant to exclude the participation of AMA, the sole agency responsible for the overall management of Accra. While not directly involved in the day-today implementation of the WRUC strategy at the subdistrict or community level, the local government has an important role to play. AMA must: • •
• •
promote the WRUC concept through education that is designed to increase public knowledge and support the concept; provide funding for the implementation of the various aspects of the WRUC concept including source separation, separate storage and collection of source-separated waste, composting, and marketing of compost; revise or establish municipal bylaws and land use regulations to permit the zoning of land in the metropolis for waste-based urban cultivation; involve the traditional administration (chiefs, priests, queen mothers, elders) in the Accra metropolitan area by empowering them to mobilize community groups for waste collection, source separation, and transforming source-separated organic solid waste into compost.
Funding Incentives in the form of money, clothing, and food are needed to encourage community or neighborhood residents
•
•
•
•
•
•
Successful separation of household waste and the composting of source-separated household waste in low-income neighborhoods depends on the active involvement of opinion leaders (chiefs and elders), community, youth, and women’s groups through extensive consultations, discussions, and education. Source-separating and composting of household waste is effective when: (1) undertaken by older persons and individuals who are familiar with source separation, (2) when source-separated waste is picked up by volunteers from households and delivered to composting sites, and (3) when composting sites are close to the source or point of waste generation. Lack of incentives and economic benefits is a limitation to the sustainability of community-based composting projects. For a community-based composting project to be sustainable, it must be incentive driven and must generate economic benefits to participants. Availability of land in locations preferred by urban cultivators for cultivation and household waste generators for composting of source-separated waste is essential to the sustainability of waste-based urban cultivation. Land use planning that recognizes urban agriculture as an urban use and accommodates this use by designating land in suitable locations for urban agriculture is critical for sustainable urban development. Potential market for compost clearly exists in Ghana’s urban areas to sustain composting and waste reuse urban cultivation.
The concept of recycling solid household organic waste into urban gardening in Ghana’s urban areas is a critical step toward promoting the sustainability of urban environments. It focuses on one critical element of planning, to further the welfare of urban residents by creating healthy, efficient, and attractive environments. To adopt, implement, and sustain the waste-based urban agriculture concept as an urban management strategy in Africa’s urban areas will require a new approach to land use planning, waste management, and decentralized participatory forms of planning. It is essential to redefine urban use to accommodate urban farming and it must benefit from the support of legislators
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and administrators. Urban agriculture has been ignored in spatial planning to the extent of even being outlawed in some African cities. Yet this study demonstrates the environmental and economic value of urban cultivation in addressing the issue of organic solid waste management and urban poverty. Urban farming is a reality that has not been properly considered in the theories of sustainable Third World urban development. How waste is viewed and managed in most African cities is equally important to urban cultivation. The out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach should be replaced by new ideas and strategies in waste management that emphasize waste as a resource. Recycling urban organic solid waste into food cultivation within African cities is the first critical step in the pursuit to achieve sustainable African urban development.
䉴 Notes 1. Community work. 2. The major ethnic group in Ghana. The Akan are further divided into Asante, Fante, Akwampim, Bono, Nzema, Kwahu, and Sefwi 3. Government responsibility. 4. Indigenous markets in Ghana are organized around market and commodity queens. These markets are composed of several small groups/associations of traders selling different commodities. Each commodity queen oversees her own commodity group. There is a “supreme” leader (market queen) for every market who works through the commodity queens. She is administratively very powerful. She is appointed by the commodity queens based on her integrity, experience, business success, and leadership qualities. Every woman wanting to sell her wares in a particular market has to be approved by the market queen. She can take disciplinary measures on errant members of the market. Most of the administrative, organizational, and management functions of the market fall within the purview of the market and commodity queens.
Author’s Note: This research project was carried out through a grant from the International Development Research Center of Canada (IDRC), and I gratefully acknowledge this financial support. The author thanks Professors Anthony Filipovitch, David LaVerny Rafter, Janet Cherrington of the Urban and Regional Studies Institute at Minnesota State University, the Journal of Planning Education and Research editor, and the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.
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