The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, has issued a 30 day directive to all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to identify and submit suitable one acre plots of land for the establishment of waste transfer stations across the country.
Mr Ayariga announced the directive on Saturday, October 3, 2026, during the National Sanitation Day exercise held at Rawlings Park in Accra as part of Ghana’s commemoration of World Cleanup Day. The initiative forms part of the government’s broader plan to overhaul the country’s waste management system and establish a more coordinated process for refuse collection, transfer, treatment, disposal and recycling.
Under the directive, every metropolitan, municipal and district assembly is expected to identify land measuring at least one acre for the proposed facilities. Mr Ayariga said the transfer stations would provide strategically located points where waste could be deposited before being transported in larger quantities to appropriate final disposal facilities.
He said particular attention would be given to major urban centres, including Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi and Sekondi Takoradi, where the volume of waste generated and the pressure on existing disposal infrastructure have created significant management challenges.
“I am using this platform to announce to every metropolitan and municipal chief executive: I’m giving you 30 days to present to me a one acre land in your metropolis, your municipality and your district because government is going to construct transfer stations in every metropolitan assembly, every district assembly, every municipal assembly,” Mr Ayariga said.
He separately instructed MMDCEs in Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi and Sekondi Takoradi to identify appropriate locations for the development of properly engineered landfill facilities that would serve as final disposal points for collected waste.
According to the Minister, Ghana’s persistent sanitation difficulties are partly attributable to inadequate infrastructure throughout the waste management chain. He identified shortages of waste collection bins, transportation equipment, transfer stations and properly engineered landfill facilities as some of the major deficiencies undermining effective refuse management.
Mr Ayariga argued that the absence of adequate transfer stations forces waste collectors to transport refuse over considerable distances, thereby increasing the cost and inefficiency of collection and creating conditions that can encourage improper disposal.
He also expressed concern about the condition and management of some existing landfill facilities, maintaining that Ghana requires modern and properly engineered sites capable of handling the country’s growing waste generation in an environmentally responsible manner.
The Minister said the government therefore intends to develop an integrated waste management framework that addresses the problem from the point at which waste is generated through collection, transfer, treatment, recycling and eventual disposal.
As part of the proposed reforms, the government is also planning to provide households with two waste bins to facilitate separation of organic waste from other forms of solid waste at the source. The initiative is intended to improve recycling and make subsequent stages of waste treatment and disposal more efficient.
Mr Ayariga further disclosed plans to replace the existing open bucket system used by some waste collectors, particularly tricycles popularly known as aboboyaa, with self loading and self tipping waste vehicles.
He said the change would improve the transportation of refuse while also reducing the physical burden placed on young people who currently operate open waste collection systems.
“We will not allow you to carry waste in open buckets,” he stated.
The Minister said his approach to waste management would be guided by President John Dramani Mahama’s directive to establish an effective and efficient national sanitation system.
He said his administration would therefore focus on creating the infrastructure and systems required to ensure that waste could be collected, transported and disposed of in a more organised and environmentally sustainable manner.
Mr Ayariga also indicated that the government would examine public expenditure in search of opportunities to redirect resources towards sanitation infrastructure. He said he would engage Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson on measures that could reduce unnecessary government expenditure and create additional fiscal space for investment in the waste management sector.
He cited unnecessary official travel and other areas of public spending as possible areas where savings could be achieved and redirected towards critical national priorities, including sanitation.
The announcement forms part of a series of measures being pursued by the Ministry to reform Ghana’s waste management architecture. Earlier assessments of waste facilities in the Greater Accra Region, including the Jamestown and Achimota transfer stations and the Kpone landfill, identified shortcomings across collection, transportation, treatment, recycling and final disposal. The Ministry has consequently advocated strategically located transfer stations and treatment facilities to reduce transportation distances and improve efficiency.
The National Sanitation Day exercise itself was organised under the national theme, “National Sanitation Day: Local Actions Yielding National Impact,” with the government seeking to move sanitation beyond periodic clean up exercises towards a sustained culture of environmental responsibility.
With the 30 day deadline now in effect, MMDCEs across the country are expected to begin identifying suitable locations and submitting proposals for the planned transfer stations. The sites identified in major urban areas will also contribute to the government’s broader plans for properly engineered landfill facilities.
The government’s stated objective is to establish a more comprehensive waste management system in which adequate infrastructure exists at every stage, from household waste separation and collection to transfer, recycling and final disposal, while reducing the environmental and public health consequences associated with inadequate sanitation.
