ZOOMLION, ASSEMBLY COLLABORATE TO MANAGE LANDFILL SITE (PAGE 35, OCT 17)

WASTE Management appears to be a major headache facing most city authorities in Ghana and the Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region is no exception.
The Revised Environmental Sanitation Policy stipulates that waste management, including solid, liquid and industrial waste, health-care and other hazardous waste; storm water drainage, cleansing of thoroughfares, markets and other public spaces, should be carried out by waste management Departments within Metropolitan and municipal assemblies or by district environmental health and management departments of district assemblies.
The policy also stipulates that all district assemblies shall be required to among other things, ensure that the sites are managed to satisfy approved environmental protection. But sadly to note, the landfill site at Sherigu which serves as the final disposal site for waste in the Bolgatanga Municipality appears not to be receiving the best of treatment.
Both solid and liquid waste is dumped indiscriminately and the site has become a breeding ground for disease causing organisms.
To ensure adequate hygienic standards, Zoomlion Ghana, a private waste management company has entered into a partnership with the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to level and compact the pile of refuse at the final disposal sites to prevent the outbreak of diseases.
Hitherto, the exercise huge piles of refuse were left unattended to. The entrance was filled with refuse to the extent that the entire entrance to the site was blocked, making access to the site very difficult.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Upper East Regional Landfill Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Jonathan Ameyibor, said solid waste management could not be effectively carried out if those responsible only collected waste and did not know where to dump it.
“When you do that you create environmental problems. The waste generated creates germs that can result in the outbreak of an epidemic. This, therefore, calls for proper management of the filth,” he said.
According to Mr Ameyibor, as an institution concerned with the environmental protection, Zoomlion found it necessary to bring in a landfill dozer to push the refuse, level and compact it.
“We believe that when we do this, we limit the breeding of organisms and also reduce the volume on waste and increase the lifespan of the landfill,” he said.
Mr Ameyibor said apart from that measure, the company was considering acquiring a land for well designed engineered land fill site with all the necessary equipment.
He said if possible, his outfit would also have an on-site recycling plant to recycle the materials, and generate energy using the gas from the refuse for domestic use or to support the national electricity grid.
Mr Ameyibor gave the assurance that Zoomlion would continue with its programme to educate the populace until they changed their poor attitude towards environmental sanitation.
“People do not seem to understand the need to manage waste. They just dump things indiscriminately. Our major task is to appeal to the people not to litter the environment because they would end up spending their resources to treat themselves of environmental related diseases," he stressed.