Volume 17, Issue 2, August 2015, Pages 264–270
Forson Bekoe-Nketia1
1 Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
In African countries including Ghana, where there is increasing urbanization, solid waste management constitutes one of the most crucial health and environmental problem in most towns and cities. The situation is similar in the Tain District, where the rapid pace of urbanization has come with a rapid increase in the volume of solid waste generated from production and consumption activities. In addition, the recent proliferation of polythene bags for packaging food, water and other packageable goods has seriously aggravated the situation in the district. This study examined the effects of improper solid waste management on public health and the environment in the Tain District. Interview schedule and field observation were the main tool and method respectively for gathering data from 152 households and 4 key informants which were selected through the convenient and purposive sampling techniques. Data gathered from the households was analyzed using Statistical Product for Service Solution and Excel software. In addition, content analysis was employed to analyze data gathered from the key informants. The findings indicate that air pollution, outbreak of diseases, flooding and river contamination are the major effects of improper solid waste management in the study communities. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the Waste Management Department and the Environmental Health and Sanitation Units should enforce the waste management legislations in the Tain District. In addition, an introduction of waste management into the school curriculum will enable the country have a generation with a new mindset towards the huge volumes of solid waste we generate in our neighborhoods.
Author Keywords: Solid waste, Environment, Health, Urbanization, Effect, Threat.
Forson Bekoe-Nketia1
1 Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
In African countries including Ghana, where there is increasing urbanization, solid waste management constitutes one of the most crucial health and environmental problem in most towns and cities. The situation is similar in the Tain District, where the rapid pace of urbanization has come with a rapid increase in the volume of solid waste generated from production and consumption activities. In addition, the recent proliferation of polythene bags for packaging food, water and other packageable goods has seriously aggravated the situation in the district. This study examined the effects of improper solid waste management on public health and the environment in the Tain District. Interview schedule and field observation were the main tool and method respectively for gathering data from 152 households and 4 key informants which were selected through the convenient and purposive sampling techniques. Data gathered from the households was analyzed using Statistical Product for Service Solution and Excel software. In addition, content analysis was employed to analyze data gathered from the key informants. The findings indicate that air pollution, outbreak of diseases, flooding and river contamination are the major effects of improper solid waste management in the study communities. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the Waste Management Department and the Environmental Health and Sanitation Units should enforce the waste management legislations in the Tain District. In addition, an introduction of waste management into the school curriculum will enable the country have a generation with a new mindset towards the huge volumes of solid waste we generate in our neighborhoods.
Author Keywords: Solid waste, Environment, Health, Urbanization, Effect, Threat.
How to Cite this Article
Forson Bekoe-Nketia, “SOLID WASTE HERE AND THERE: THE EFFECTS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 264–270, August 2015.
