Ghana launches solid waste recycling and composting plant

The government of Ghana has inaugurated a new plant that turns solid waste into fertiliser in Damongo.

President of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo launched the solid waste recycling and composting plant located in the Savannah region of Ghana. The new solid waste recycling  was commissioned almost two years after construction began.

Reduce solid waste pollution

The facility, which was built by the Jospong Group, is capable of handling about 400 tonnes of waste per day. The biodegradable material is turned into fertiliser for farmers, who will receive up to 200 tonnes of fertiliser per day. The 56 tonnes of plastic waste collected daily at Damongo are supplied to industries that add raw material to make equipment such as chairs, buckets and bowls.

The aim is to reduce solid waste pollution in Ghana through “safe” collection and disposal. The Ghanaian government entrusted the project to the Jospong Group, whose subsidiary Zoomlion is responsible for public waste management in this West African country. The entire project cost nearly US $20 million.

The project, created about 500 direct jobs for young people in the waste sector, thereby reducing the unemployment rate. According to the Ghanaian authorities, this is one of 16 solid waste recycling and composting plants being developed in the country. Currently, Ghanaians produce 14,000 tonnes of rubbish a day, two-thirds of which ends up in sewers or is burnt in landfills, according to the authorities.