Abokobi refuse dump to be shut down

The dumpsite at Abokobi will soon be shut down, the Ga East Chief Executive, Mr John Kwao Sackey has said. Mr Sackey, did not give any specific date for the closure but stated in an interview with the Daily Graphic that the process to decommission the facility was on course.

Today, the number of waste trucks at the dump has reduced from 120 a day to about 60. According to the Supervisor at the Abokobi dumpsite, Mr Jones Mensah, the site was only operating during the day, thus from 6:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m.

Mr Jones said the site was no longer operating a 24-hour service because one of its machines had broken down.

According to him, officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had visited the place severally, and expressed concern over the rising heap, constant smoke and stench in the area. There was little that could be done as the AMA and the other assemblies had not been able to secure an alternative place for the final disposal of solid waste, he stated.

At the time of the visit, about 10 trucks were in a queue to dump refuse, and it was obvious that the dump was overstretched.

The Abokobi dump continues to pose environmental and health hazards despite the deepening calls from residents in and around that part of the Greater Accra Region for authorities to shut down the facility.

There are fears that the stench and smoke emanating from the dump will negatively affect the health of management and staff of the hospital, as well as those at the Patang Nurses Training College and residents.

Continuous inhalation of solid waste containing carcinogenic substances, according to the Director of the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Anna Puklo-Dzadey,  could cause cancer.

The dump has today become the life saver for virtually all the assemblies in the Greater Accra Region, except Tema, but that also comes at a huge cost to the health of people who live in that part of the region.

The dumpsite is managed by Zoomlion Waste Management Company Limited.

The 800-square metre dump has become a receptacle for solid waste from the Accra Metropolis, the Ga East and West, Ledzokuku Krowor, Madina-Nkwantanang, and Adentan municipalities.

Thick smoke billowed from the heap of mountainous garbage, while stench hovered the environment when the Daily Graphic visited the site yesterday, Wednesday July 10, 2013.

A source at the dump told the Daily Graphic that but for the sanitation crisis that the closure of the dump would create for the Accra metropolis and other assemblies, the dump should have been shut down by now.

Already, Accra is facing solid waste management challenges due to the partial operation of the Abokobi dump. It is a common sight to see piled-up garbage in some areas in the metropolis.

By Naa Lamiley Bentil/Daily Graphic/Ghana