THE PERFORMANCE OF ZOOMLION IN URBAN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN WA MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

Waste management is one of the major challenges confronting most rapidly growing economics and urban cities in the world over. This is especially so in developing countries including Ghana. The main problems associated with waste management in developing countries include; poor waste management systems, inadequate sites and facilities for waste management operations, inadequate equipment, and operational funds to support waste management. These problems have become more multifaceted in recent years as the volume and type of wastes being generated are increasing at frightening rates. This situation is a direct result of the high population growth and enhanced standards of living of our people. Urban waste management is drawing increasing attention, as citizens observe that too much garbage is lying uncollected in the streets, causing inconvenience and environmental pollution, and being a risk for public health. Although government authorities apply all the means at their disposal, the piles of wastes only seem to grow from day to day. In an era of shrinking municipal budgets and a restriction of the scope of municipal government jurisdiction, the problem is likely to intensify unless alternate approaches can be developed. In the quest for Ghana to find a lasting solution to waste management, Zoomlion, a private waste management company which started its operations in Ghana in 2006, was contracted to manage the waste in all our municipalities. But does this provide an alternative to the public sector management of waste which has been practiced since independence? This dissertation assesses the performance of Zoomlion in urban solid waste management using the case study of the Wa municipality. In pursuance of this research objective both quantitative and qualitative research methods of data collection were applied; where it was found that Zoomlion has improved the waste situation in the municipality but does not use the appropriate policy and approach to waste management, and also lacks the needed capacity to effectively manage urban solid waste. The researcher recommends among others that Zoomlion should: formulate a policy to guide its operations in urban solid waste management in addition to their objective of providing services which seek to prevent environmental pollution and safeguarding public health; use the integrated approach to urban solid waste management and not the conventional approach; and employ planners and engineers to boost their staff technical capacity to manage urban waste.