After a heavy rain in Accra, the story Ghana repeats itself is easy to see. Drains overflow, streets turn into streams, and families are forced to wade through waist-deep, dirty water. When the floods finally recede, they leave behind more than just mud; they leave a tangled net of sachet wrappers, takeaway packs, and plastic bags that trap our neighbourhoods.

At the same time, in our homes and markets, piles of cassava peels and spoiled fruits rot in open bins, attracting pests and emitting foul odours. This is not just a nuisance; it is a national economic failure. The plastic blocking our drains and the organic matter that could restore our soils are both being treated as rubbish when they should be treated as resources.

Ghana is at a crossroads. We can continue the “take–make–waste” culture that floods our neighbourhoods, damages public health, and drains local government budgets. Or we can choose a practical, Ghana-ready circular approach: reduce plastics at the source, collect what remains efficiently, and separate organic waste so it becomes compost and bio fertiliser for farming. If Ghana harmonises plastic reduction with urban nutrient cycling, we can solve two national problems with one coordinated system cleaner cities and stronger food security.

The unseen link between plastics, floods, and food prices

Plastic pollution is often framed as an environmental issue. But in Ghana, it is also an infrastructure and public health problem. When drains are choked, flooding damages property, disrupts business, spreads disease, and increases the cost of city management. Assemblies spend scarce resources on emergency desilting and clean-up money that could have improved sanitation systems permanently. But the link does not end there. Our waste crisis is now feeding our food crisis.

Most of what Ghana throws away is not plastic. A large fraction is organic waste biodegradable material that should never be mixed with plastics in the first place. When organics and plastics are mixed in the same bins and the same trucks, everything becomes “dirty”: plastics are harder to recycle and organic matter becomes contaminated and unusable for compost. The result is a lose–lose system where nothing returns to productive use.

This matters because Ghana’s soils are tired. Farmers across the country complain about declining fertility and rising fertiliser costs. If our cities were capturing organic waste cleanly and converting it into high-quality compost or bio fertiliser, that material could return to farms as soil amendment improving yields, reducing dependence on imported inputs, and strengthening resilience. In other words, the waste we bury today is the fertility we import tomorrow.

Why the current approach keeps failing

Ghana’s waste system is still largely designed for “collection and disposal,” not “collection and recovery.” That is why, even when clean-up campaigns happen, the problem returns quickly. We are treating symptoms, not the system. Three structural failures keep recycling and composting from scaling:

1) We do not separate waste at the source: once plastics, food waste, and other refuse are mixed together, it is expensive and often unsafe to sort

2) We have weak accountability for packaging; plastic producers and major distributors profit from packaging, but the cost of cleanup is left mostly to assemblies and taxpayers. That imbalance is unsustainable.

3) We don’t link waste recovery to strong end-markets: recycling and composting only survive when there is steady demand: manufacturers buying recycled plastics and farmers or institutions buying compost. Without guaranteed markets, recovery systems collapse.

The good news is that these failures are not destiny. They are policy choices and can be corrected. To make this real, Ghana must adopt a practical two-stream approach:

• Stream 1: Dry recyclables (plastics, metals, cartons)
• Stream 2: Organic waste (food and green waste for composting)

This separation is the bridge that connects plastic reduction to nutrient cycling. When organics are kept separate, compost becomes cleaner and safer. When dry recyclables are not soaked in rot and liquids, recycling capture becomes easier and more profitable.

A Five-Point Policy Package

1. Make Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) real

Producers and major importers of plastic packaging must help fund its collection and recovery. This is not punishment; it is responsibility. EPR should require: registration of major packaging producers/importers, clear recovery targets, audited reporting, and a ring-fenced fund that supports collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure. When producers share the cost, assemblies are less overwhelmed and recovery systems become financially viable.

2. Launch citywide source separation starting with pilots that actually scale.

Assemblies should begin with high-impact zones: markets, institutions, and dense neighbourhoods. Keep it simple: two bins (dry recyclables and organics), predictable collection days, community education in local languages, enforcement that is fair and gradual (warnings first, then penalties). The aim is not to punish households; it is to create a new normal that makes sorting easy and consistent.

3. Build composting and bio fertiliser capacity and guarantee offtake to agriculture.
Separation only matters if there is a destination. Ghana should invest in: municipal composting hubs, private compost enterprises, and quality standards to protect farmers from contaminated products. Most importantly, link compost to demand. Government agriculture programmes, district assemblies, and farmer cooperatives can create an offtake market so compost plants do not die from lack of buyers. This is where waste policy and food policy meet.

4. Integrate the informal sector properly because they are already doing the work.
Waste pickers and informal collectors are not a problem; they are part of the solution. Any serious circular strategy must include: contracts or cooperative arrangements, PPE and basic health protections, fair pricing systems at sorting centres, and training on safe handling. If we ignore the informal sector, we lose capacity. If we formalise them without respect, we create conflict. Integration must be practical and dignified.

5. Use public procurement and incentives to grow circular markets.
Circular systems need buyers. Government can help by: prioritising products made with recycled content where feasible, supporting local manufacturing of recycled plastic items (pipes, bins, furniture), providing tax incentives or concessional financing for recycling/composting businesses, and rewarding compliance and innovation instead of only punishing failure.

Final Statement

Ghana’s waste crisis is not only about litter; it is about lost opportunity. Plastic can be recovered. Organic waste can be composted. Jobs can be created across collection, sorting, processing, logistics, and retail. Assemblies can spend less on emergency clean-up and more on permanent sanitation. Farmers can access local soil amendments and reduce vulnerability to imported input shocks. But none of this happens by accident. It requires alignment: environmental regulation, local government action, private sector investment, and agricultural offtake all moving in the same direction. We do not need more sympathy speeches after floods. We need systems that prevent the next flood, reduce the next disease outbreak, and rebuild the next harvest. A circular Ghana is not a dream. It is a decision.

By Lawrencia Yeboah-Duah

There was quite a decent crowd at the Beach Club. The boys were already seated, and two waiters were standing by them, taking their orders. We also placed ours, and joined the conversation after introductions.                                                                                                                ‘

So madam’, I said as I turned towards Kwakyewaa, ‘What are you studying in France?’ ‘Actually, I just completed my Diploma in Building Decoration. I studied Land Economy at KNUST, and whilst on a visit to France I met a school mate who was studying in a Design School, and after some discussions I also enrolled on the course’.                                                                                                                                                                      

‘That is very interesting. So what aspects of building design did you cover?’                                                                                                       

‘Well, naturally I studied some general aspects of buildings, then I concentrated on the fittings and other things that make them look nice’.                                                                                                                                                                                                      

‘Very interesting. Perhaps you can give me a few interesting design ideas. When are you going back?’ ‘In two weeks. I need to go and find a job’.                                                                                                                                                              

‘I will need to talk with you at some length, before you leave’.                                                                                                                            

 ‘I didn’t know you were into buildings. First I learned that you were into agriculture, but yesterday Esaaba said you were rather into development work in the north’.                                                                                                                                                                          

‘Esaaba is very correct. I have been in development work in the north for three years. But I need to discuss a building project I’m doing in Accra’.                                                                                                                                                                               

‘Anytime. I will be very ready to help’.                                                                                                                                                                 

 After quite a bit of dancing, we decided to call it a night, and I took off with the two ladies for the ride home. ‘David’, Esaaba said, ‘thanks for a wonderful evening. What a lovely place’.                                                                                               

‘Yes indeed’, Kwakyewaa said. ‘Nice place, nice band, and beautiful environment. Many thanks, David’. ‘If you have really enjoyed it as you say, then let’s do it again’.                                                                                                                        

‘We promise!’ the two ladies said as if on cue, and broke into laughter.                                                                                                              

‘David, when do you want to have the discussion you mentioned?’                                                                                                             

 ‘Anytime convenient to you. How about lunchtime on Monday? I can pick you up around eleven-thirty’. ‘It is fine. I don’t have anything planned for Monday. I will be looking forward to it’.

‘I got to the house on Monday as planned, and was about to step out of the car when Kwakyewaa came out, followed by Esaaba’. ‘Esaaba’, I said, ‘I thought you would be at work at the pharmacy at this time’.                                                                                                                                   ‘I should, but I stayed home to do a report for our head office. I am on my way now. I will get off at the roundabout’. ‘I will drop you at the office, but before that, you are joining us for lunch’.                                                                                                                                   

‘Okay Bernard. No objection’.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

‘Now, Esaaba, I need to mention this. Has Abena informed you that our relationship is over?’                                                                                                       

‘She hasn’t told me in black and white, but I get that impression from her body language and some of her utterances. For example, I was surprised that she was going out last Friday with Jennifer when you came to the house. You had been out of town for a while, and I thought she would want to spend time with you’.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 ‘We haven’t sat down to discuss this, but as you said, her utterances and body language were a little unusual, but I now have confirmation that she is seeing someone.

Quite a number of people have seen them together, and she used to ask me some funny questions about my work. I hear she has been saying that I am not doing any development work, but I’m rather an agricultural extension officer, and that she has met a wealthy person who can take care of her. She’s free to believe or say anything she likes, so I won’t bother to discuss it with her. I think she would prefer that.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

‘I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything to us. Perhaps she believes that because of our relationship with you, we would not approve’.                                              

‘Maybe, but it’s her life. She’s free to do what she wants. But she can’t stop me from coming to spend time with you guys’

I dropped Esaaba at work, and drove to the office. Kwakyewa greeted Eva and Robert, and after offering her a seat, I introduced them. ‘Now Kwakyewaa’, after my B.Sc. Economics degree I did an MA in Project Management, and got a job as Project Manager with the EU, based in the north. It has been a very enjoyable job, and fortunately well paid. Soon as I started, my mentor advised me to find some run down or uncompleted buildings in prime areas, buy them and, after fixing them up, put them up for sale.

I have done several, and I have now bought a block of six houses. I have just started the process of fixing them. Now, I would like you to take a look at the block, and offer me some advice. First, take a look at these documents’. I opened a page on my laptop and placed it in front of her.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 ‘Wow, this is very interesting. You know, I did similar work for a firm in France. When can we go to the site?’ ‘Right now. Eva, would you like to join us? I know Robert is expecting some visitors.’                                                                                                                       

 We spent over two hours at the site, with Eva and I, offering answers to her numerous questions. Finally, we arrived back at the office. ‘This is really exciting, and very impressive. I would like to make some suggestions, on design, painting, and landscape’. ‘You start work tomorrow. Eva or Robert will pick you up, and drop you after work’.                                                                                                                            

‘Okay. I will try to do as much as I can before I leave’.                                                                                                                                                                             

‘You are assuming that I will allow you to leave in two weeks?’ She broke into great laughter. ‘Shall we get a drink before I drop you?’ ‘Of course. Let’s talk in some detail about the project. So you are a very big man. Does Abena know about this?’ ‘No. We had a good relationship until she started spending time with Jennifer. She changed completely, so I quickly lost interest’. ‘Maybe she would not have taken that decision if she really knew the kind of person you are’.                                                                                                                    

 ‘I think I gave her enough indication, but she is easily swayed by appearances. She and Jennifer were always talking about rich people, well dressed people, stuff like that. I resent that. I also like the good life, but I prefer a low profile’.