Why Compost in Ghana

Introduction

Every human activity generates one form of waste or another; from the fundamental action of breathing through ingestion, creating shelter to all the related activities making existence possible, humanity utilizes pure natural resources but releases diverse kinds of waste the poor management of which has contributed immensely to the rapid deterioration of the environment, which amazingly continues to sustain life. Humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; they consume nutritious food and release solid and harmful waste into the environment. It is widely acknowledged that human life depends on the environment: “The natural environment is the whole of the living world”. Yet “[n]ature is sometimes taken for granted and undervalued” (Natural Environment White Paper, 2011) rather than protected to sustain life. Human activity sometimes gives the impression that the environment matters not to life. “But people cannot flourish without the benefits and services our natural environment provides” (Natural Environment White Paper, 2011). Therefore humanity has crucial reasons for environmental protection; safe waste management protects the environment.

Yet, any effort by humans to manage waste is never an innovation since nature has patented its own sophisticated waste recycling systems, often replicable by humans. Consequently, while human attitude has proven to be destructive towards humanity and the environment, nature constantly acts to replenish itself to counter the negative consequences of human activity. Nature’s cleaning systems, however, does not preclude human responsibility toward the environment. Humanity has responsibility to manage its waste; composting is one effective avenue to further one of nature’s recycling processes.

(Vermi)Composting

“Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden” However, there are even stronger environmental reasons for composting. Organic waste sent to landfills decomposes quickly, depriving the decomposing agencies of oxygen, giving way to other organisms which can produce, among others, “a harmful greenhouse gas, methane, which harms the atmosphere”. Yet, “when this same waste is composted above ground at home, oxygen helps the waste to decompose aerobically which means hardly any methane is produced, which is good news for the planet”

Additionally, nature offers a helping hand to the composting process through the earthworm which converts “inexpensive materials into "black gold". Of the over three thousand species of earthworms, in the world, the “Eisinia Fetida and Andreii ... the “Lumbricus Rubellus”, which belong to the “Epigeic” worm family are commonly used for vermicomposting. Composting--ordinary or vermiculture--ensures recycling in order to reduce the waste sent out to landfills and to rejuvenate organic soil content. It also enables people to live in a clean environment, dignifying humans, improving quality of existence.

Statement of the Problem

Ghanaians have developed deplorable attitude to cleanliness; many simply refuse to practice clean lifestyles. Both literates and illiterates are guilty of creating and living in dirty surroundings. Even the basic acts of sweeping, dusting and scrubbing their own homes have become chores so much that many simply neglect such healthy activities. An equally abysmal situation pertains in public spaces. Metropolitan and District Assemblies are overwhelmed by waste—domestic as well as industrial; despite some attempts at managing waste, cities and towns are engulfed by filth. Throughout the country, gutters have become dumping sites for faeces and solid waste; they have thus degenerated from drains to health hazards in various communities.

Many Ghanaians have become so insensitive to filth that not only do they wallow in it, but they gladly add to it. People--young and old, lettered and unlettered, male and females—litter streets rather than leave rubbish in garbage bins. Granted, metropolitan and district assemblies fail to provide adequate bins for public places in the country. However, sometimes where they are present, irresponsible citizens would litter the roads rather than walk to garbage bins. Where there are no bins, rather than behave conscientiously, keep the waste till they get home or to a bin, they leave it by the wayside. Our cleaning efforts are similarly problematic.

Metropolitan and District Assemblies are responsible for the general cleanliness of public spaces in the country. Among other functions, they employ people for physical cleaning; they also secure equipment for transportation of garbage from homes and public places to designated dumping sites, ideally far from residential areas. That mandate includes proper maintenance of dumping sites to ensure environmental sustainability. Also included in the Assemblies’ duties is enforcing sanitary rules in domestic domains and public spaces. In the past, Sanitary Inspectors would go round people’s homes to inspect that basic tasks such as sweeping of homes and cleaning of bathrooms, tap areas and animal shelters were properly done to avoid unhygienic conditions that could lead to diseases and death. Similar monitoring was done in commercial areas. Those known duties of the Assemblies have not changed with time. In fact, rapid population growth, rural urban migration, technological advancement and other global trends all have added implications for generated waste, thus adding to the challenges of the mandate of Assemblies as cleaning agents, calling for innovations in waste management.

In the olden days, Councils were able to handle generated waste ably, using various methods. Labourers would sweep and carry the rubbish away to temporary collection points for onward transportation to final dumping sites—solid waste was incinerated. The collection points had Supervisors who ensured that rubbish was dumped at a particular site to avoid littering. Offenders—young and old—were penalized to serve as motivation for cleanliness and obedience to the law.  In those days, both liquid and solid wastes were managed so as not to be problematic to the ruler or the ruled; that situation has changed. While it is true that citizens do not dispose of waste responsibly, Governments’ efforts at managing waste have been simply pathetic. One of the most offensive sights to every clean-conscious Ghanaian is filth swept from drains left at the curb of gutters only for the wind and rains to send them back to choke the gutters. This happens even if such noble cleaners have been commended by the media for their services to community.

One clear indication that the country has lost its grip on waste management is the number of garbage hills/mountains that abound in communities. Town and city housing development has extended residential communities across the country (Goal 7). It would appear that towns and cities have caught up with the dumping sites; it could also be assumed that land is becoming scarce. The reality, however, is that the sites are multiplying up because Assemblies have not paced waste management efforts with that of development (Goal 7). Waste is simply dumped rather than recycled. So the sites get filled and new ones are sited. Lawless citizens also start dumping sites indiscriminately, either because they refuse to walk to the actual site or they are frustrated due to poor collection schedules followed by the cleaning agencies. These are but two indications that waste management has become hugely problematic in the country yet other pressing reasons exist.

Waste is simply dumped, not utilized in ay way

The major reason for the speedy emergence of garbage heaps is that the waste is not utilized in any way. It is left to destroy the environment. So much of our waste could be recycled into other products in order to avoid wasting resources but that is not done. An enormous amount of paper is used daily by both formal and informal sectors, which paper is largely not recycled except in a few cases. Used polythene bags have become an environmental menace in the country. Though some industries attempt to recycle, it is evident from the litter of polythene bags that proponents are losing the battle. Much of our solid waste consists of biodegradable material which could be recycled as compost to enrich depleted soil or as biogas for domestic use Also an appreciable quantity of industrial waste could be recycled as other commodities.  Yet waste management constitutes a very small portion of current waste management practices, though another dimension to the waste crisis is pollution of the country’s water bodies Ghana Water Policy, 2005). If recycling were taken seriously, water and environmental pollution could be controlled to a very appreciable degree, and residents would enjoy better health. Ghana certainly has urgent need to convert biodegradable waste to other useful material--for health, environmental and economic reasons--to name three.