The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is considering shutting down access to the Oti Landfill Site for other municipalities and districts in the Ashanti Region in a bid to contain a looming sanitation crisis in the metropolis.
According to the Assembly, the main waste disposal site, which currently serves over four municipalities in the region, is nearing full capacity.
The overstretched facility has contributed to unsanitary conditions in parts of the city, with filth engulfing major markets and communities as waste collectors struggle to offload their trucks.
In recent weeks, many commercial small-scale waste collectors in the Kumasi metropolis have spent hours at the landfill site waiting to dispose of solid waste.
Long queues of tricycles operating within the metropolis have been observed as operators struggle to offload waste at the facility, a situation they say is affecting their productivity and working hours.
The Oti Landfill Site receives waste from communities within the Kumasi metropolis as well as at least four other districts and municipalities in the Ashanti Region, including Ejisu, Mamponteng, and surrounding areas.
As a result, the facility is now handling between 2,000 and 3,000 tonnes of waste daily—far above its designed capacity.
According to the KMA, which manages the facility, the landfill site risks closure in the coming months as it continues to operate beyond capacity, raising urgent concerns about waste management in the metropolis.
Kumasi mayor, Richard Ofori Agyeman-Boadi, says the assembly is burdened in managing the facility with its meagre financial resources.
“KMA has had to bear the responsibility of managing the waste of about 13 municipalities with our resources. We are grappling with a lot of difficulties. Previously, we had announced we were going to close down within 18 months. But if nothing is done urgently about it, within the next three months we are likely to shut down our final disposal site and stop every assembly within greater Kumasi from dumping their refuse. They have to look for places,” he cautioned.
The assembly is racing against time to find funds to set up additional cell facilities to contain wastes dumped at the Oti Landfill site.
The mayor explains that the Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCRP), which complements filth uptake, is presently financially constrained to run their daily operation as they have been cut off from the national grid.
Mr Agyeman-Boadi says the government owes the KCRP a 4-year arrears, as he assured of engaging high-level government officials to settle the debts.
Meanwhile, the KMA says persons found dumping refuse at roundabouts, road medians, and other unauthorised spaces commit a criminal offence, as it provides 1000-litre dustbins to collect waste at the market centres.
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