Hybrid Waste to Energy as a Concept for Waste Management in Ghana

Waste management in most African countries sub of the Sahara is still a major challenge for the municipalities. In Ghana, less than 20% of the 14,000 t/day solid waste generated is collected. The remaining 80% are dumped in indiscreetly in open fields and drains. The effect is a heavily polluted environment with huge climatic consequences. Over the years, several initiatives have been taken to address this challenge by prioritizing collection and dumping of the waste notwithstanding the fact that the organic component of the waste without paper and wood is about 50%. The result is that even though collection efficiency has increased, dumping sites have now become a challenge with many communities refusing to allocate their land to be used as dumpsites or landfills. Additionally, the plastic fraction of the waste has seen a surge from about 10% a decade ago to about 20% currently. Meanwhile, even though Ghana claims to have overcapacity in terms of electricity generation, access to electricity is about 85%. Further, about 33% of rural communities in Ghana do not access to electricity. Additionally, only 20% of the population in Ghana have access to modern fuels leaving the over 80% of the population relying on wood fuels. This paper discusses the possibility of finding a more sustainable solution to these challenges by energetically valorizing the municipal solid waste. A hybrid waste to energy concept which combines solar PV, biogas technology to treat the organic fraction and pyrolysis to treat the plastic waste fraction is proposed for Ghana.