Waste Disposal and Recycling in Ghana: Collection, E-Waste, Plastics

Waste management in Ghana is organised locally. Each of the country's Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) runs or contracts the service in its area; the Accra Metropolitan Assembly describes itself as one of 261 MMDAs.

Example Accra (AMA):

• According to the AMA, subscription to solid waste services is mandatory for owners and occupiers of all types of premises – homes, businesses and institutions.
• You must register with an AMA-accredited service provider in your community. The AMA states that using an unaccredited provider is illegal.
• Services are delivered directly by the AMA or outsourced to private companies under franchise or contract.
• Standard charges are published each year in the AMA Fee Fixing Resolution. Fees therefore differ by assembly and year.

The AMA (Sanitation) Bye-laws 2017, published in the Local Government Bulletin of 25 January 2019, add that owners or occupiers must provide waste receptacles to the assembly's specifications, and that the assembly announces collection days and times. It is an offence under these bye-laws to use an unregistered waste contractor, to refuse collection by an accredited contractor, to fail to pay the prescribed fee, or to dump or burn waste in open spaces, drains or gutters.

Bin colours: We found no official nationwide colour code for household bins in Ghana. The colour code in L.I. 2250 (black, yellow, red, brown) applies to healthcare waste only, not to households. Check with your assembly or your collector.

At national level, the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA) supervises sanitation by the assemblies. In December 2025 it reported unannounced sanitation inspections under the National Sanitation Day initiative and the deployment of "borla taxis" (small waste collection vehicles), sweepers and sanitation trucks.

Under the AMA bye-laws, waste may only be placed on land designated by the assembly, and only by operators licensed to do so. Assemblies may charge tipping fees at their disposal sites.

Kpone engineered landfill: According to an environmental and social audit published by the World Bank in 2019, the Kpone engineered landfill lies about 5 km northeast of Tema city centre, is owned by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, and has been in use since February 2013. The audit notes that the second construction phase could not be built because the land was re-zoned. It also describes a large number of waste pickers working on the site, organised in the Kpone Landfill Waste Pickers Association. Its current status may differ from this 2019 audit.

For private households: Official sources do not describe a network of public drop-off recycling centres where residents can hand in sorted waste. For larger quantities, the AMA offers special services on request: evacuation of bulk waste, construction waste and debris, e-waste and toxic waste. Other assemblies may organise this differently.

Electrical and electronic waste: Under the Hazardous, Electronic and Other Wastes Regulations 2016 (L.I. 2250, regulation 48), a consumer of electrical and electronic equipment must ensure that the resulting e-waste goes to:

• a collection centre authorised by the EPA,
• a registered dismantler,
• a recycler, or
• the producer's take-back system.

Producers must set up a collection centre or take-back system individually or collectively, and give consumers contact details of an authorised collection centre (regulation 45). The Environmental Protection Act 2025 (Act 1124, section 139) obliges manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers to take back used or discarded equipment they manufactured or sold, for recycling and disposal. The equipment list covers large and small household appliances, IT and phones, consumer electronics, lighting, tools, toys, medical devices and more.

The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology says its E-Waste Management Programme supports the formalisation and expansion of collection centres. We did not find an official public list of authorised collection centres; ask the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

Agbogbloshie: The Old Fadama scrap yard in Accra, commonly called Agbogbloshie, was long Ghana's best-known e-waste site. In a 2019 article, the ministry described a health centre, football pitch and training facility opened there under a Ghanaian-German e-waste programme implemented by GIZ, and cited about 10,000 scrap workers. We found no current official statement on the site's status.

Batteries: "Batteries" appear as a category in the L.I. 2250 equipment list. The same channels as for e-waste therefore apply.

Tyres: Waste tyres must go to an authorised collection centre, a registered rethreader, shredder or recycler, or back to the importer's take-back service (regulation 63). Burning waste tyres is an offence (regulation 69).

Hazardous household waste (paint, chemicals): L.I. 2250 (regulation 19(8)) requires each district assembly to ensure adequate services for accepting small quantities of hazardous waste from households. Ask your assembly where to take it.

Not covered by official sources we could verify: national rules for household medicines, clothing, solar panels or home battery storage. Ask your assembly, the EPA or the seller.

Ghana's National Plastics Management Policy (Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, document dated March 2020) states that more than one million tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Ghana every year. It gives the highest priority to reducing avoidable plastics, especially single-use plastics, thin-film carrier bags, pouches and sachets. The policy plans:

• a comprehensive Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, building on the existing Plastic Waste Recycling Fund;
• support for private-sector take-back and collection centres;
• clearer use of the Environmental Tax Act 2013 (Act 863).

Citing a 2018 study, the policy says about 82% of Ghana's plastic waste could be recovered and recycled with existing technologies.

Deposit-return: We found no national deposit-return scheme for bottles or cans in the official sources we checked.

• Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124): Gazetted on 6 January 2025. It establishes the Environmental Protection Authority and repeals both the EPA Act 1994 (Act 490) and the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917) (section 171). Part Four covers e-waste: an advance eco levy for importers and manufacturers, the Electrical and Electronic Waste Management Fund, and take-back duties. Section 109 bans open burning of hazardous and "other wastes", a term that includes wastes collected from households.
• L.I. 2250 (2016): Regulations made under the repealed Act 917. Under section 171(2) of Act 1124, they continue to have effect until reviewed or cancelled.
• Local bye-laws: Collection, fees and penalties are set by each assembly, for example the AMA (Sanitation) Bye-laws 2017.