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Pathways Towards a Circular Economy in Ghana: The Contribution of Waste Transfer Stations and the Informal Waste Collectors in Solid Waste Management

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Circular Economy Strategies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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Abstract

The waste transfer station is a novel technology believed to revolutionise Ghana’s solid waste management sector. Given the current waste management practices, an assessment of the facility is needed to ascertain its usefulness in Ghana’s SWM processes. This study was undertaken to assess the potential impact of the Achimota waste transfer station in promoting circular principles that result in sustainable development outcomes in the city of Accra. A qualitative research approach was adopted to address the study’s objectives, with interviews as the primary data collection tool. From a technological innovation perspective, the results highlighted that the Achimota transfer station has been instrumental in reducing waste volumes by enhancing material recovery for reuse or recycling and fulfils all three dimensions of sustainable development. However, operational gaps make realising a circular economy in the waste management sector and achieving sustainable development an elusive dream. The study recommends a circular waste business model where all stakeholders collaborate and share knowledge to set actionable targets that help address these challenges and ensure a smooth transition to a circular economy in Accra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Kofi Dua Agyei, Bob Offei Manteaw & Kirk Bright Enu

  2. Citigroup, 388 Greenwich St, New York City, NY, 10013, USA

    Andy Bonaventure Nyamekye

  3. Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Thomas Yeboah

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Correspondence to Kofi Dua Agyei .

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  1. Business and Accounting Discipline, Faculty of Arts and Society, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia

    Michael Odei Erdiaw-Kwasie

  2. Department of Agribusiness under the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    G. M. Monirul Alam

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Agyei, K.D., Manteaw, B.O., Nyamekye, A.B., Enu, K.B., Yeboah, T. (2023). Pathways Towards a Circular Economy in Ghana: The Contribution of Waste Transfer Stations and the Informal Waste Collectors in Solid Waste Management. In: Erdiaw-Kwasie, M.O., Alam, G.M.M. (eds) Circular Economy Strategies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3083-8_18

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