Can you imagine a world of waste-wise cities? Accra leads the way

The challenge

Waste is piling up in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, which is home to about four million people. A typical situation across Africa, and although the amount of waste generated on the continent is relatively low compared to elsewhere, the World Bank expects the volumes to more than double by 2025. Without significant investments in proper management, waste will continue to clog up city streets and drains, creating serious health and environmental challenges.

The problem with collecting all this waste are the immense costs. Waste management is usually the largest cost unit within a municipal budget.  Low- and middle-income countries already spend USD 46 billion annually on managing waste and still don’t meet the demand. Struggling to find landfills to dump the waste, city authorities have realized that composting waste can both make a dent in the mounds of waste and generate income through sales….