A Word About Garbage...

Waste management is becoming an increasingly important issue that needs to be addressed across the developing world. Ghana is no exception. Black plastic bags are found everywhere in the capital city, Accra. They clog up sewers, get blown about on the street, and generally pile up everywhere which is not a pretty sight. If you go and buy anything from plantain chips to sugar to sandwiches, you are almost guaranteed to have your food wrapped in plastic and have it put in a plastic bag. As someone who tries to reduce the amount of plastic bags I use at home (I am a faithful reusable grocery bag user), I try to reduce the amount of garbage I accumulate where possible. For example, I will frequently (who am I kidding, I go every other day), walk down the street to purchase egg sandwiches. I am usually very hungry so I buy two sandwiches and at first I wouldn’t question that each sandwich had to be put in its individual plastic bag. Now I ask that both sandwiches be put in the same bag. This seems to puzzle them and they always ask me if I’m sure. Sometimes despite my request, I get two bags anyways.  Each item is supposed to go in a separate bag. 

Another huge source of waste plastic is the water sachets that almost everyone uses for drinking water. They remind me of saline implants (if I’m honest), however they are very cheap and a week’s worth of drinking water will cost me the same as a water bottle which only lasts me a day. Everyone - locals included - will drink from these water sachets. Once they are finished, people will just drop them wherever they are. The end of the street near my office is a prime example. There is a shaded area under a tree where a lot of the street vendors keep their bags in the mornings when they are getting ready to start selling their goods. The area is covered in sachets and the requisite black plastic bags and no one is responsible for picking them up.

There is a systemic issue with Ghanians who don’t feel responsible for the waste they drop on the road because someone else will be there to clean it up. Historically things like food (which also comes wrapped in plastic at some restaurants), were wrapped in leaves which, once dropped on the ground, would become part of the Earth as it decomposed. This was not a problem as the leaves were biodegradable. The problem is that plastic never decomposes and it builds up in the environment and it creates an unsightly mess. Plastic bags and sachets also clog up drains and sewers which prevents water from flowing after it rains. The government implemented a system to have people cleaning the streets regularly which further reinforced the practice of dropping garbage as someone else will pick it up and dispose of it. People who do not have their garbage collected, opt to burn it in their backyards to dispose of it. If you’ve never smelled burning plastic before - be grateful, it really is an awful smell that gives you an instant headache. I was surprised to know that some areas do receive regular garbage pick-up. I was surprised because I was told in advance of my trip that garbage pick-up was exceedingly rare in Ghana. Solid waste that is collected is taken to the dump outside of Accra where it is also burned. It is rumored that when they burn the garbage heap, it’ll burn for upwards of two weeks without going out. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know. I do know the Twi word for dump - ‘bola’

So what are we left with? Basically no one takes responsibility for their personal garbage, everyone drops garbage where they feel like it, everyone puts everything in a black plastic bag. For now, I will continue to buy the sachet water because I am not yet ready to start boiling my own water and I will also continue to try to reduce my plastic waste wherever possible.