LET'S HALT THIS LOOMING DANGER

THE problem of refuse generation and disposal seems to have caught up with the national capital for quite sometime now but the announcement by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) that it has been overwhelmed by the 2,000 tonnes of refuse generated daily by residents portends danger and there is the need for a very swift response to avoid a calamity.
According to the AMA Chief Executive, Mr Stanley Nii Adjiri-Blankson, the Oblogo refuse dump, which is currently being used by the assembly, will be closed down next month because it is full.
The fact that a temporary site that has been found at Saba, near Weija, to serve as a refuse dump can contain the situation for only 18 months makes the announcement very unpleasant.
Globally, waste generation and disposal has heightened and in our case, it requires the efforts and co-operation of all stakeholders to bring the problem under control. Clearly, it has become difficult for the city authorities to cope with the volumes of waste generated daily, let alone collect them.
Although the waste disposal problem seems to be compounded by the nature of refuse generated by residents in the various homes and factories, we implore people to discard the habit of throwing refuse, often wrapped in plastic bags, into gutters and open spaces because that will not do anybody any good.
By that attitude, we are only perpetuating the vicious cycle, which boomerangs in the form of malarial parasites.
Probably, one way through which waste collection and disposal can be made easy is to place separate bins for refuse generated from plastic, glass, peels of foodstuff and vegetables or fruits, and papers or rags, among other, so that the people are sensitised to this effective waste disposal habits.
The only option now open to the Assembly is to complete the Kwabenya Landfill Site, which has been stalled for sometime because of the stand-off between the Assembly and residents of the area.
Finding an alternative disposal site has become a tall order because the development of Accra is heading towards its peripherals, namely Kasoa, the Akuapem Range or Dodowa and Nsawam and the likelihood that the problem will not abate is great, especially because of the uncontrolled and unregulated developments taking place everywhere.
The DAILY GRAPHIC applauds efforts being made at placing litter bins at some vantage points within the city but this is inadequate and cannot solve the problem.
We think that what is happening now should be a wake-up call to the AMA to find permanent solution to the problem even if it means finding a suitable place far away from the city, which will entail great cost, but the public can be educated on the need for them to subsidise waste collection by paying a little.
Again for the problem to be brought under control, the law must be seen to be working and for which reason sanitary inspectors should be deployed to the communities to ensure that people maintain a clean environment because when the war on filth is won, Ghana will be on its way to battling malaria, and other parasitic diseases.
And since the bulk of the waste is the end product of plastic manufacturing companies, their inputs should be sought on how to clear the mess created by them. The war on filth calls for all hands on deck.