ABSTRACT
The study seeks to assess households’ willingness to pay for
improved solid waste management services within the Kumasi Metropolis and the
amount they are willing to pay. The motive is to ascertain the feasibility and
relevance of the polluter-pays-principle being implemented by the Assembly and
recommend how it could effectively be done strategically to raise the needed
funds to address the challenges of waste in the city. The research gathered
data from two main sources namely: secondary and primary sources. The three
main techniques employed in gathering the primary data were: preliminary field
investigation, questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews. The contingent
valuation method was used to determine willingness to pay. The econometric
tools used include the logit and tobit regression models. The determinants of
factors influencing WTP for improved waste management services using the logit
regression model were identified to be education, Length of stay in the area,
House ownership, Distance to dumping sites and Gender. The factors influencing
the amount respondents were willingness to pay using the tobit model include
Age, Income, Education, Length of stay, House ownership, Bags of waste
generated and Distance to dumping sites. It was realized that households are
WTP average of GHc8.13 more in addition to the GHc11.00 they currently pay for
improved services. It is therefore recommended that the Assembly takes
advantage of the citizenry’s believe that waste management is a shared
responsibility and not the sole responsibility of the government and get
individuals to pay realistic amount in order to raise the needed funds for
improved waste management. Again, the Assembly could surcharge the 1st
and 2nd class residential areas to pay relatively more and use the
excess amount to subsidize the 3rd class residential areas (because
they cannot afford).
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
According to UNEP (2005), waste is
directly linked to human development, both technologically and socially. The
compositions of different wastes have varied over time and location, with
industrial development and innovation being directly linked to waste materials.
Some components of waste have economical value and can be recycled once
correctly recovered.
Humans generate a great deal of
waste as a byproduct of their existence, and they always have, as evidence at
dumping pits located in or around archaeological sites can attest. Every task,
from preparing a meal to manufacturing a computer etc, is accompanied with
production of waste material, which cannot be used for other things and needs
to be disposed of effectively. If not contained and handled appropriately,
waste can balloon into a huge problem, as for example when garbage ends up in
the open ocean where it can make animals and birds sick. (Wilson et al, 2006)
Transportation of waste is a major
issue, as appropriate disposal sites may be remote. Frequently, subscription
pickup services are available, with people paying a flat fee to have their
waste picked up and disposed of, and people can also subscribe to specialty
services, like medical waste pickup services, or confidential paper shredding
and disposal services.
Waste management practices differ
for developed and developing nations, for urban and rural areas, and for
residential and industrial producers. For instance, in some cases management of
non-hazardous residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is
usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management of
hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the
generator. Developing effective waste management strategies is critical for
nations all over the world, as many forms of waste can develop into a major
problem when they are not handled properly. Numerous firms provide waste
management services of a variety of types, and several governments also
regulate the waste management industry for safety and efficacy.
According to the US Environmental
Protection Agency (2009), historically the amount of wastes generated by human
population in the early ages was insignificant mainly due to the low population
densities, coupled with the fact there was very little exploitation of natural
resources. Common wastes produced during the early ages were mainly ashes and
human and biodegradable wastes, and these were released back into the ground
locally, with minimal environmental impact.
In Africa, Municipal solid waste
management constitutes one of the most crucial health and environmental
problems facing governments of African cities. This is because even though
these cities are using 20-50 percent of their budget in solid waste management,
only 20-80 percent of the waste is collected. The uncollected or illegally
dumped wastes constitute a disaster for human health and the environmental
degradation. Not only is their quantities increasing but also the variety, both
a consequence of increasing urbanization, incomes, and changing consumption
habits fuelled by globalization. This scenario places the already-desperate
urban councils in a difficult situation especially as they have to develop new
strategies to deal with increasing volumes as well as strange varieties of wastes.
Poor waste management practices, in particular, widespread dumping of waste in
water bodies and uncontrolled dump sites, aggravates the problems of generally
low sanitation levels across the African continent.
According to the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) ((2009), urbanization is on the rise in Africa,
and this trend is expected to continue in the future. Of concern is the
inability of infrastructure and land use planning methods (including for waste
management) to cope with urban growth, (the highest in the world) at 3.5 per
cent annually. This is particularly urgent in slum areas, which constitute a
big part of many of the cities and towns in Africa. Waste management
infrastructure is largely non-existent in rural areas of Africa.
The gap between waste management
policy and legislation and actual waste management practices is widening due to
perennial capacity constraints and lack of waste management facilities for
various waste streams. Access to major investments and acquiring the technical
know-how needed to resolve the capacity constraints remain a tall order. Waste
generation is expected to increase significantly as a result of
industrialization, urbanization and modernization of agriculture in Ghana and
for that matter Kumasi. This will further aggravate current capacity
constraints in waste management.
Progress has been made in waste
management policies and strategies. Biogas and compost production from organic
waste fractionation has been widely accepted in Africa as a best practice, and
progress is being made in developing and implementing specific projects in
various countries. However, the use of economic instruments and implementation
of polluter-pays principles in waste management have yet to mature in most
African countries (Carlson, 2005).
The single largest implementation
challenge for managing waste policies remains creating sufficient capacity for
environmentally sound management, including, where appropriate, recovery and
recycling of various waste streams in Kumasi. The effort to do this is
constrained by access to finance and technical know-how.
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