CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

One of the crucial, unsolved,  or  even unresolved  problems for those concerned with the quality of life in the world, especially the developing world is that of  adequate,  accessible  and acceptable basic sanitation (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2004).  In the recent report  by  the United Nations Independent Expert, Albuquerque (2009) suggests that the human right to sanitation in and of itself is inextricably linked to other human rights. Moreover, the right to sanitation involves explicit requirements in terms of accessibility, affordability, availability, quality and acceptability (Albuquerque, 2009). Based on this Mulama (2008:7) contends that Mahatma Gandhi is quoted to have said that ‘sanitation is more important than political independence’.

It is a commonly held view, that developing countries would follow  the  development  path forged by industrialised countries, aided by these ‘more developed’ countries (McGranahan, Pedro, Songsore, Surjadi, and Marianne, 2001: 3). According to McGranahan et al (2001) these urban sanitary practices of industrialised countries, have helped contribute to the dignity, health and wealth of people in those countries, and thus have great bearing on the practices and the aspirations of developing countries. Many municipalities, cities and towns continue to grapple with the problem of Solid Waste Management, especially plastic waste and the Municipality of Accra, Ghana is no exception (Amankwah, 2005).

This has made the issue of improved sanitation a real priority at present in Ghana,  since  sanitation benefits connect between environment and health (Harvey, 2008). Sanitation for the purpose of this study has to do with solid waste management, specifically the plastic waste menace. Enormous amount of plastic waste is generated throughout the world and the most crucially posed question is how to manage this waste effectively and efficiently to save the environment and the continuous existence of mankind. A solid waste is any material  which  comes from domestic, commercial, and industrial sources  arising from human  activities which has no value to people who possess it and is discarded as useless (Freduah, 2004; 2007).

In the early days, waste disposal did not pose difficulty as habitations were sparse and land was plentiful. Sanitation became problematic with the rise of towns and cities where large numbers of people started to congregate in relatively small areas in pursuit of livelihoods (Shafiul and Mansoor, 2003). While the population densities in urbanised areas and per capita waste  generation increased, the available land for waste  disposal  decreased proportionately (Shafiul  and Mansoor, 2003). Sanitation thus emerged as an essential, specialised sector for keeping cities healthy and liveable (Fobil, 2001). Hunter (2000) predicts that in the foreseeable future  more  than half of the world’s population will live in urban areas, and that the developing countries, including Ghana will be the worst hit by sanitation problems. In a joint Monitoring Programme  for water and sanitation, conducted by United Nation International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) and (WHO) (2006), Ghana is said to have an encouraging water supply of 75% and worse sanitation coverage of just 18% with less hope of improvement. It is estimated that about

2.6 billion people still do not have a safe means of disposing of their wastes exposing them to several diseases (WHO and UNICEF, 2004). In fact, so practical and pervasive are the issues of

sanitation that the United Nations declared the year 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation. This is meant to address what has been called the “global sanitation crisis” (Black and Fawcett, 2008:14). While a little of the bulk of the waste generated as a result of new technology in the Municipal and Districts all over the country is biodegradable, the larger chunk of this waste is non-biodegradable and problematic which is solely plastic (Neubeck,  1991;  Mitchell,  2002). Also over the years, plastics have replaced leaves, glass and metals as a cheaper and more  efficient means of packaging (IRIN, 2006). According to Freduah (2007) and  Fobil (2001) the  use of plastic as a cheap, convenient, and perceived health-enhancing packaging material,  explains in part the strong taste for plastic use in handling water and food items alike.

The word plastic is derived from the Greek word “Plastikos” meaning capable of being shaped or molded (Neubeck, 1991). According to Neubeck (1991) this property of plastics allows them to  be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes during production and this has made Plastic   a highly useful material and its applications are expected to increase as more new products and plastics are developed to meet demands (Mudgal et al., 2011). Unfortunately, the properties of plastic that make it so valuable also make its disposal problematic. In many cases plastics are thrown away after one use, especially packaging and sheeting, but because they are durable, they persist in the environment (Mudgal et al., 2011). According to a study conducted in  Accra,  Ghana by GOPA Consultants in 1983, Plastic Waste accounts for 1-5% (of net weight) of the   total amount of waste generated (Lardinois and Van de Klundert, 1995). Since then, there has  been a tremendous increase in plastic waste due to increase urbanization and  consumption  pattern. Also subsequent studies showed that, per capita generation of plastic wastes stands at 0.016–0.035 kg/person/day and plastics make up between 8-9% of the component materials in

the waste stream (Fobil, 2000). Now most products are packaged in polyethylene films, which form about 70% of the plastic waste in the municipal waste stream. According to Fobil  (2000),  the plastic materials in commerce across the sub-region include  low-density  polyethylene (LDPE) commonly called Polyethylene films, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) among others. The analysis of the historical trend of plastic waste composition in the waste stream in Ghana shows that in 1979 the percentage by component was 1.4% and by 1993 it had risen to 4% (Schweizer and Annoh, 1996). In 1996/97, the proportion of plastic waste in the waste  stream  was 5% (Schweizer & Annoh, 1996; Archer, Larbi and Anim, 1997) and by 1999/2000 its proportion increased to 8% (Fobil, 2000).

This was a consequence of huge profits from the sale of plastics and the existing large domestic market, propelling private enterprises to begin to commit huge capital into plastic industry, and,  by 1996, there were about 20 plastic producing establishments in Ghana (Freduah, 2007). This included those of plastic films, with notable ones such as Poly Products, PolyTank and Sintex (Adarkwa & Edmundsen, 1993; Archer et al., 1997; Accra Sanitation Workshop, 1998; Agyenim-Boateng, 1998). By the turn of this century, it was reported that there were about 40 plastic manufacturing companies producing about 26,000 metric tones of assorted  plastic  products annually in Ghana, with 90% of the companies in the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area (Fobil, 2001). Additionally, over 10,000 metric tones of finished plastic products are imported annually into Ghana (Fobil, 2001).

Market centres are important modules of the economic landscape of Ghana, as they are in other parts of the world. They do not only serve as places for commodity exchange but also as centres  of information exchange, local administration, health delivery, education, entertainment and

what have you (Gordon and Aryeetey, 2012; Addo, 1988). According to Good (1975: 70) local markets are organized on periodic basis and they “set the rhythm for the convergence of people and goods”. Even urban markets which operate daily have overlay of periodicity, that is, special market days when there is significant increase in trading activities (Aryeetey and  Nyanteng, 2006). Market centres do not only serve as places where basic domestic needs such as consumables are purchased, but also they are centres for individual and institutional income generating activities such as selling and buying as well as important sources of revenue for administrative districts.

The contribution of trading activities to the livelihoods of the population, particularly in the informal sector cannot be overemphasized (Aryeetey and Nyanteng, 2006). The market place as  an important structural part of the local economy which facilitates the exchange of commodities, transfer of monies, traffic generation, information flow and other forms of spatial and social interactions also leads to waste generation especially, plastic waste. This issue has the potential  for environmental pollution with its attendant public health implications  (Aryeetey  and Nyanteng, 2006; Mwanza, 2007).

This topic came to light when the researcher viewed a documentary on waste situation in the Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA). Upon viewing the clip and listening to the discussions, a quick survey was done to assess the situation in Dome. The observation confirmed that the situation   was not different from those showed and discussed in the media. Based on observation at Dome market, the researcher’s conclusion is that even if more containers are put there, the tendency to litter indiscriminately would still be rife which would be dealt with in subsequent chapters.