Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Coastal Communities on Waste Management in Ghana

Abstract

Waste management has been a worldwide issue which most countries are finding the best ways of dealing with. Managing waste improperly poses threat to the health of individuals and the environment. Ghana as a developing country, its coastal communities are faced with a lot of challenges regarding waste management due to actions towards waste management. This research seeks to examine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of coastal communities on waste management and how their actions have affected their health as well as their environments. The study area comprises of three different coastal communities which includes Mamprobi, Glefe and Gbegbeyise. It was realized that waste is causing more harm to the lives of people living at the coast and the environment since waste is dumped indiscriminately, not usually collected by the waste management companies, not seen as a resource and government seen as the only one responsible for managing waste in the countries especially at the coast. To ensure proper waste management practices, it was recommended that the community members should be involved in decision making, given the opportunity to manage their own waste as well as educating them on waste management.