Abstract
Waste having a significant and relevant material presence in our everyday life was not considered worthy of human attention up until the 1990s. Most probably, this delayed recognition of waste is due to the fact that it has been mistakenly understood as something that is supposed to remain invisible to the human eye in a sense that it is assumed to be occupying those spaces that are not inhabited by human beings. Contemporary times, however, are marked by giving due importance to waste. It is seen as a crucial environmental and health challenge for species’ survival on earth and is therefore placed center stage in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim to protect the planet. More recently, SDG 12, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, has alerted to fast-growing waste management (WM) environmental issues. With the earth being viewed as a limited natural resource and having the inadequate capacity to accommodate wastes leading to adverse environmental and health consequences, caution must be taken to understand the associations between global consumption, total waste, and wasting patterns. Conceptualizing waste as a globally circulating material, particularly in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and sulphur oxide (SOx), the governance of waste has become a global concern. This chapter focuses on WM in Ghana, a middle-income economy country in the West of Africa. Due to rapid industrialization, Ghana is witnessing an ever-escalation of the country’s contribution to global environmental waste issues, especially GHG emissions. This study aims to identify and address the challenges associated with managing waste in Ghana. Additionally, it proposes specific measures to mitigate climate change and its effects on the environment and human health resulting from WM. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 101 responses received from WM experts based on the aim. The data were analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 27. 72% of respondents were male, with most completing first and second degrees and have been working between 11 and 15 years. Although most of the respondents’ report waste being poorly managed, 93% consider that the associated causes of improper WM include inadequate infrastructure, lack of landfills, lack of tools and logistics, and equipment. All respondents believed that the challenges affect climate change through the emission of GHGs and particulate matter, resulting in global warming and impacting human health.
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Debrah, J.K., Teye, G.K., Wahaj, Z., Dinis, M.A.P. (2023). Industrial Waste Management in Ghana: Environmental Challenges and Climate Change Impacts on Human Health. In: Leal Filho, W., Vidal, D.G., Dinis, M.A.P. (eds) Climate Change and Health Hazards. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26592-1_5
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