Private Sector Involvement in Urban Solid Waste Collection. Performance, capacity and regulations in five cities in Ghana

This thesis focuses on the private sector involvement in solid waste collection, and the influence of private sector capacity and local governments‘ regulations on private sector performance. Private sector involvement in public service pro-vision evolved to deal with market and government failures (van Dijk, 2008b). The public sector is playing a leading role of purchaser (buyer) on behalf of citi-zens through subsidies and/or user charges, whiles the private sector is taking on an increasing role as provider (seller) of public services, and being regulated by the public sector to correct market failures associated with ‗public good‘ nature of solid waste service. It is believed that private sector involvement is a way to maintain market discipline and to bring private sector management and technical expertise and private finance into public service to achieve cost efficiency and better service provision (improve service quality) (Cointreau, 1994; Bartone, 2001; van Dijk, 2008b). Even though private sector involvement (PSI) provides opportunities for improved efficiency and service quality, the few s

Institutional arrangements for private sector involvement in urban solid waste collection: case study of five cities in Ghana

This paper discusses institutional arrangements for private sector involvement in urban solid waste delivery and provides understanding of the institutional gaps in Ghana context. Five cities in Ghana (Accra, Tema, Kumasi, SecondiTakoradi, and Tamale) were selected for the study. This study suggests there were institutional arrangements – legal, regulatory and financial arrangements – for private sector involvement in solid waste collection. These arrangements include both service contracts for communal collection with subsidy paid by local government Assemblies and franchise contracts for housetohouse service with or without subsidy from the Assemblies. The involvement of private sector in solid waste collection had increased the collection rate and the proportion of housetohouse collection service without subsidy from the government. The major constraints were the inadequate capacity of the Assemblies, the long delay in paying for the contracts, low user charges and inadequate monitoring of quality of service

Assessing human resource capacity needs to meet the MDG targets on water and sanitation in Ghana

Achieving the MDG targets for water and sanitation (WatSan) has gained much attention in the run-up to the year 2015. While the cost of achieving these targets are known, the human resource capacity needs to do same is unexplored. In an attempt to fill this knowledge gap, this study, generally, was to test a methodology for assessing the human resource requirements to meet the WatSan MDG targets in Ghana. Consultative stakeholder meetings, structured questionnaires and key informant interviews were employed to elicit information regarding the existing human resource capacity, supply of human resource from training institutions and human resource demand for the sector. A total of 45 organisations comprising of 6 public sector institutions, 6 NGOs 14 private sector organisations and 19 training institutions were involved in the study. The study points out that, the MDG target deficit for sanitation coverage is approximately 8 times more than that of water. The private sector (46%) and NGOs (9%) are more involved in the water sector based on employee distribution as opposed to the sanitation sector which is dominated by the public sector (82%). There is a high demand for Administration and Finance and Social Development personnel for the water sector contrary to the  sanitation sector where a high demand exists for Technical WatSan and Other Technical personnel to meet the MDG targets. The human resource assessment method was found to be useful. The study proposes development of recruitment policies and training plans that align with the short and long-term targets of the WatSan sector and more private sector and NGO involvement in the sanitation sector. Keywords: Human resource capacity, water, sanitation, coverage, Millennium Development Goal

Performance of private companies involved in urban solid waste management: evidence from three cities in Ghana

An assessment of performance of service providers involved in solid waste management was conducted to provide understanding of the performance drivers, constraints and challenges. A survey of 15 private companies was conducted in Accra, Tema and Kumasi to assess the solid waste vehicle productivity and utilisation, and the factors that influence vehicle productivity and utilisation. The vehicle productivity and utilisation of seven out of the 15 companies were below the average of 21 tonnes per day per vehicle and 61% respectively. The study suggests a non-linear relationship between utilisation and size of company. The performance implications are that companies with less than 15 vehicles will perform better in terms of vehicle productivity and utilisation than those with more than 15 vehicles. The factors that seem to influence the performance are route planning, supervision of vehicle operations and maintenance

Household access to groundwater and its implication in an urban poor community, Ghana

The access to drinking water in urban informal settlements of developing countries is a challenge for the poor. The objective of the study was to determine access to groundwater supply and its implication to consumers. A survey of 300 households in the study site showed that the households’ main water sources were public standpipe (37%), pipe water into buildings (20.67%), unprotected dug well (15%) and protected well (13%), motorized borehole (5.67%) and hand-pump borehole (4%). The groundwater use was high with about 78% of households accessing it as a main source or secondary source. Results showed that 96% of all the households use sachet water as a major source of drinking water. The households view the groundwater as unwholesome for drinking because of its salty taste, impurities and colour

Shifting from public shared toilets to home toilets in urban settlements: implications of household demand in Kumasi, Ghana

This study was conducted to assess the households’ attributes towards the use of public toilet, demand for improved household toilet and the implications of shifting from public shared toilet to improved household or home toilet. A sample of 120 houses was randomly selected from two groups – those without improved household toilets and those with improved household toilets built with subsidy. The results showed that most of the households using public toilet (86%) were not satisfied with the cleanliness and odour, but were not aware of the home toilet promotion. High and middle income households (82%) received subsidy of 50% of the cost of household toilet. Most of the low income households residing in multifamilies houses did not have improved household toilet due to limited space for facility, multilandlords from extended families, and lack of motivation resulting from the presence of public shared toilets. There are difficulties in shifting from public shared toilets to improved household toilets

Partnerships in sanitation service management and infrastructure provision in Kumasi, Ghana

This paper investigates the potentials of the private sector in the development and management of sanitation infrastructure and services within three Sub metros in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA). A case study approach was used and data on public toilets under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and franchise management were collected. Results showed that users of BOT facilities were generally satisfied with the services they receive but the KMA-owned toilets under franchised management receive low patronage because of the poor management and political interference. Some factors plaguing the partnership include mistrust between the partners, political interference and socio-cultural behaviour of the users

Groundwater quality in a low income community: case study of Kotei, Kumasi

The quality of groundwater, is low in low income peri–urban communities where onsite sanitation facilities and ground water resources are barely apart. This paper assesses the influence on-site sanitation facilities have on groundwater quality by determining the level and source of contamination and identifying the associated pathways to contamination at various levels of storage. Groundwater samples from randomly selected sources with different storage levels were analysed for physio-chemical parameters, microbial contamination levels and the presence of heavy metals. The risk to contamination of selected sources was conducted using a questionnaire developed by Howard et al. The results indicate that, groundwater quality deteriorates from source to storage with counts of microbes increasing. However, as microbial contamination level increases, risk to contamination levels decreases for primary and secondary storage. This suggests that, contamination at primary and secondary storage levels is not directly from on-site sanitation systems but from other identified factors

Bioconversion of municipal organic solid waste in to compost using Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens)

Purpose The study assessed the quality of compost produced by the Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) in terms of the compost nutrient level, microbial activities, and the bioaccumulation of possible heavy metals in the organic solid waste.Method The study used the pre-experimental study design, one-group pretest-posttest to obtain the data. Five experimental units were used for the study, which include the daily feeding rate for the five different groups of larvae. The experiments were replicated three times. The nutrient level, heavy metal content and presence of microbes were analyzed before and after the decomposition process.Results The study discovered that the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK)content   increased in the compost produced. Cross-contamination of Total Coliform from feed to the prepupae were significant while regrowth of Total Coliform in compost were insignificant. After the composting process most heavy metals like Fe had insignificantly increased in the compost .Conclusion It can be concluded that larval composting enhance the regrowth of pathogens since the process is entirely mesophilic. Bioaccumulation of most heavy metals was minimum, increasing the level of these heavy metals in the compost. The nutrients were extremely high in the compost to the extent that can cause phyto-toxicity. Post-treatment of the compost is needed to make BSFL compost viable for the market

Effect of Locally Available Fruit Waste on Treatment of Water Turbidity

Turbidity is one of the main problems associated with surface water treatment. Chemical coagulants are already being used for treatment but their enormous cost, human and environmental issues associated with their use have led to searching for alternatives like natural coagulants (plant-based). Although the use of natural coagulants for drinking water treatment has been discussed for a long time, the practice is still not employed in most poor developing countries, probably due to availability of materials and their usage as food crops. Therefore locally available fruit waste are now being evaluated for their suitability. Laboratory scale studies using jar test experiments were performed on river water containing synthetic turbidity of kaolinite to analyze the effect of Mangifera indica (Duncan mango)  and Citrus aurantiifolia (key lime) seeds as  locally available fruit waste on treatment of water turbidity. Experiments were carried out using different turbidity levels classified as low, medium and high: 50, 100 and 150 NTU with pH kept constant at 7.25.  Results indicated that the seed extracts of Duncan mango and key lime have coagulating potential. They were very effective for treatment of medium and high water turbidity. For treatment of high water turbidity using the seed extracts of Duncan mango and key lime as primary coagulants, 92.0 % and 91.1 % turbidity removal were achieved.  Compared to alum, the turbidity removal effectiveness was: alum > Duncan mango seed extract>key lime seed extract for all water turbidity levels. The pH of the treated water were within neutral (basic) due to the buffering capacity of the seed extracts. Result further indicated that the seed extracts of Duncan mango and key lime have the potential for use as coagulant aids with alum as primary coagulant for treatment of low, medium and high water turbidity. Keywords: Mangifera indica, Citrus aurantiifolia, Turbidity, Natural coagulants, Seed extracts, Fruit wast