Methods of Domestic Solid Waste Management in Hohoe Urban in the Volta Region

Solidwaste management has become the greatest public health problem facing manyurban and semi-urban areas in Ghana. Great wealth can be generated from wastesif managed effectively but also has high probability of causing serious healthand environmental problems if not effectively managed. The study sought todetermine factors militating against domestic solid waste management in Hohoe,possible ways of curbing them and also to assess the methods of domestic solidwaste management. This study used descriptive cross-sectional survey andstructured questionnaire to obtain the required information from respondents. Atotal number of 403 respondents were recruited into the study. The data collectedwere entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version20. The relationships between socio-demographic characteristics of therespondents and their use or non-use of apt domestic solid waste disposalmethods were examined using chi-square analysis. The study found that 44% ofrespondents disposed domestic waste into central skip over dustbins. Spilledover of skip over dustbin has caused 8% of respondents to practice open burning.7% dumped on undeveloped building plots, 5% dumped elsewhere, and 3% dumpedinto the river course. About 78% of respondents reported that mobilization ofcleanups was irregular. The result from the study also showed a statisticalsignificant association between practice of domestic solid waste management andreligion [χ2 (2, 403) = 60.9484, p α = 5%]. About 96% ofChristians practiced good methods of domestic solid waste management comparedto 4% of Muslims. The findings painted a gloomy picture of poor domestic solidwaste management practice among the respondents in the study communities.