The Government of Ghana has announced plans to formalize waste transfer loading stations and integrate tricycle waste collectors into the country’s long-term sanitation strategy as part of a comprehensive national waste management model.
Speaking during an inspection tour of waste management facilities across Greater Accra, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs revealed that five of the six designated waste transfer stations in the capital are currently operating after government interventions to clear accumulated refuse following the National Sanitation Day exercise.
The Minister made the announcement during a working visit to Zoomlion’s Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECOP) at Jamestown, which is currently serving as a transfer station. The operational transfer stations are located at Abokobi, Teshie, Achimota, Ashaiman and Jamestown.
According to the Minister, President John Dramani Mahama directed that immediate action be taken to accelerate waste evacuation across Greater Accra to prevent a possible public health emergency. As part of the emergency intervention, routine administrative procedures, including waste weighing charges at transfer station gates, were temporarily suspended to facilitate the rapid movement of refuse.
The Minister disclosed that the Malam transfer station remains closed because of the lack of an accessible road. He explained that National Security, working together with the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, has been tasked to complete the access road to enable operations at the facility.
He further disclosed that the Jamestown transfer station currently receives waste from approximately 800 of the estimated 4,000 waste-collecting tricycles operating daily within Greater Accra. To reduce congestion near the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, government has introduced a 24-hour operational system where tricycle operators discharge waste during the day while articulated haulage trucks transport compacted waste overnight to engineered landfill and recycling facilities in the Eastern Region.
The Minister defended the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach to sanitation, explaining that modern waste management requires substantial investment in infrastructure, equipment, logistics and technical expertise. He commended the Jospong Group of Companies for rapidly deploying heavy machinery and operational support under credit arrangements, which helped prevent a major sanitation and public health crisis.
Government also intends to formally integrate informal tricycle waste collectors into the country’s official waste management framework. The Minister acknowledged that tricycle operators provide essential waste collection services, particularly in densely populated communities where conventional refuse trucks have limited access.
He revealed that the Ministry is developing a sustainable business model that will regulate tricycle collector operations, improve service delivery and strengthen the country’s sanitation system. Government also plans to engage the Council of State’s Sub-committee on Sanitation, submit a Cabinet memorandum for policy approval and collaborate with the Ministry of Finance to secure funding for engineered landfill sites and modern waste processing facilities across Ghana.
The Minister reaffirmed government’s commitment to building a cleaner and healthier Ghana through long-term policy reforms, infrastructure investment and stronger collaboration with sanitation stakeholders nationwide.
