Waste collectors receive training on hazardous waste segregation and handling 

Seventy individuals are benefiting from training on waste segregation and hazardous waste management for improved sanitation and environmental sustainability.

The training, organized by Professional City Managers, a waste management company, is funded by the Skills Development Fund. The seventy beneficiaries are expected to train residents in seven thousand households in the Ga West, Ga North, and the La Dadekotopon municipalities.

According to the 18th session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development report on Ghana, urban areas have a major challenge dealing with waste. They predominantly produce domestic solid waste, industrial waste, and construction waste, which are sent to the few dumpsites or recycling stations available. The majority of the waste ends up in drains, streams, and open places. The report says less than 40% of urban residents are served with solid waste collection services and less than 30% by an acceptable household toilet facility. The traditionally applied methods of dealing with waste have been unsuccessful, and the resulting contamination of water and land has led to growing concern over the absence of an integrated approach to waste management in the country.

The training, which addresses the skills needs of enterprises operating in both the formal and informal sectors of the waste economy, is equipping participants with knowledge and skills on how to use protective equipment, identify different types of hazardous waste, handle and segregate as well as store hazardous waste. They are also being trained in basic computer skills on how to enter data on waste collection, sorting, and analyzing data collected. Chief Executive Officer of Professional City Managers, Beethoven Agyeman, said the participants are being trained so they can, in turn, train the households where the company serves. This will not only make their work easy but also help prevent the spread of diseases related to waste collection.

“As we are handling about 70 workers now, they are also expected to teach the households and multiply the knowledge and skills learned. So invariably, let’s assume that if we are training 70 and each of them visits 100 houses, we are looking at 7000 houses on average.”

Mr. Agyeman said they are hoping to change how people handle and segregate waste since improper handling can cause diseases.

A facilitator who is also the Managing Director of Mench Hub Technology, Ebenezer Osei Oppong, explained that the beneficiaries, which include collectors, transporters, and drivers, are being made to understand the important role each of them plays in ensuring a clean environment.

“We are demonstrating it, we have videos, we have the PPE that they are going to wear, how they are going to dress up, how they are going to also educate others,” he noted. He thanked the Ghana Skills Development Fund for supporting the project.

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