Waste in Accra is collected by private companies under contract to the district assemblies, with Zoomlion the largest and most visible. You pay them directly, by household.

There is very little municipal recycling. What recycling happens is largely informal, and it works better than that description suggests.

Getting your rubbish collected

Ask your neighbours which company serves the street. Collection is organised street by street, and the answer is local rather than official.

Options:

  • Door-to-door collection. You pay a monthly fee, they collect on set days. Most convenient, and the norm in built-up residential areas.
  • Communal container. A skip at a central point in the neighbourhood. Free or cheap, and you carry your waste to it.
  • Kaya bola. Informal collectors, often young men with carts, who take waste for a small fee per bag. Widespread and practical.

If you are renting, ask the landlord or the caretaker whether collection is already arranged and included, or whether you organise it yourself.

What it costs

A monthly household fee, varying by area, service level and company. It is a small line in a household budget.

Pay by MoMo, or in cash to the collector.

Sorting and recycling

Formal municipal recycling in Accra is minimal. There is no council-issued recycling bin.

What exists:

Informal collectors buy or take materials with value — plastic bottles, metal, cardboard, electronics. Separating these out means they get recovered rather than landfilled, and it puts a small income in someone’s hands.

Sachet water bags are the volume problem. Billions are used, and they clog gutters. Some collection initiatives exist; a filter and a reusable bottle is a more reliable answer. — Water in Accra

Glass and metal have some resale value and are collected informally.

Organic waste can be composted at home if you have any outdoor space, and in Accra’s climate it breaks down quickly.

Private recycling initiatives operate in Accra and some offer collection — worth searching for current ones, as they come and go.

Electronics

Agbogbloshie, in central Accra, became internationally known as one of the world’s largest sites for processing scrap electronics. Much of the site has since been cleared, but informal e-waste processing continues in Accra.

The work is done largely by hand, often by burning cable insulation to recover copper, with serious consequences for the health of the workers and for the surrounding soil, air and water.

If you have electronics to dispose of, prefer a formal e-waste programme or a manufacturer take-back scheme where one exists.

The gutters

This is the part that connects waste to everything else.

Accra’s open storm drains are its drainage system. When they fill with plastic and household waste, water has nowhere to go, and the city floods.

The June 2015 flood, which killed more than 150 people at Circle, was made worse by blocked drainage.

Practically:

  • Never put waste in a gutter, however small
  • Keep the gutter outside your house clear. Communal clearing happens, and joining in is normal
  • Check the gutters before you rent. Full gutters near a property tell you what happens in June — How to find a place

National Sanitation Day

Ghana has periodically run a national clean-up day, usually the first Saturday of the month, with communities clearing drains and public spaces. Its observance has varied over the years.

Neighbourhood clean-ups also happen independently, organised by residents’ associations, churches and assembly members. Joining one is a good way to meet your neighbours.

Sewage

Many Accra properties are on septic tanks rather than a mains sewer. Emptying is done by private tanker companies, called when needed.

If you are renting:

  • Ask whether the property is on a septic tank, and when it was last emptied
  • Establish who pays for emptying — this should be in the tenancy agreement
  • Ask about the drainage during heavy rain

What to check in a tenancy agreement

Practical setup

  • A bin with a lid, because of flies and because of the heat
  • A second container for bottles, cans and cardboard, so an informal collector can take them
  • The collector’s phone number saved
  • Compost, if you have any outdoor space
  • A reusable water bottle and a filter, which removes the largest single source of household plastic in Accra