Waste Crisis: Govt Unveils Fresh Plans for New Landfill Sites in Greater Accra and Eastern Region

• Local Government Minister Mahama Ayariga announced plans to build new landfill sites in Greater Accra and the Eastern Region to handle rising waste volumes
• The Kpone Katamanso landfill has reached full capacity, with the government now preparing to decommission the facility
• Ayariga stressed that the government is exploring incineration and waste-to-energy technologies as long-term alternatives to landfill disposal

Ghana's government has announced plans to build new landfill sites in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions as the country grapples with a mounting waste crisis that has pushed existing facilities to their limits.

Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister Mahama Ayariga announced to Eyewitness News on Monday, September 29, 2026, citing the urgent need to expand waste-management infrastructure across the country.

"We have plans to construct new landfill sites across the Greater Accra area and Eastern Region to accommodate the waste that is being generated," Ayariga said.

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Kpone Landfill set for decommissioning

Central to the announcement was the fate of the Kpone landfill, which has reached full capacity.

Ayariga confirmed the site would be formally taken out of service once the necessary planning processes are complete.

"The Kpone landfill site, as you can see, is full. So we're in the process of planning its decommissioning," he said.

The minister noted that the absence of adequate engineered landfill facilities in certain parts of the country had already forced the government to redirect waste from Agbogbloshie to alternative disposal sites.

Incineration and waste-to-energy on the table

Beyond new landfills, Ayariga said the government was actively considering modern waste-management technologies that could reduce the country's dependence on land-based disposal altogether.

"I agree with him that there are new ideas about how to manage waste such as incineration and the conversion of waste to energy through burning it and then using the heat to generate energy," he said.

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He added that deliberations on how Ghana could integrate these technologies into its national strategy were already underway.

"I have had those; even this morning I was in a meeting discussing how we should do that as a country," Ayariga said.

The minister stressed that the government's long-term vision centred on extracting value from waste rather than simply burying it, positioning the planned reforms as a shift towards a more sustainable and productive approach to waste management in Ghana.

UK-based Ghanaian faces legal trouble over waste

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a Ghanaian man in the UK reportedly ran into trouble with UK law enforcement.

This comes after he violated waste disposal laws by dumping rubbish that had his name and address on it into the wrong type of bin.

In a now-viral video, Etuoboba posted a letter the man received from the Ealing Enforcement Team dated May 6, 2026, outlining the offences committed by the man and the actions being taken.

Source: YEN.com.gh