Household waste fees could fall to GH¢50 every two weeks under new system — Ayariga

Households could eventually pay as little as GH¢50 every two weeks for waste collection under a proposed system being developed by the government, Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister Mahama Ayariga has said.

Mr Ayariga said the plan would bring waste transfer stations closer to communities and introduce more efficient collection arrangements designed to reduce the cost of transporting refuse.

He explained that households currently paying around GH¢300 every fortnight could see significant reductions in their bills once the new system is fully operational.

“We can get it down to maybe GH¢100, maybe GH¢50,” Mr Ayariga said during a question-and-answer session at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, October 5, 2026.

The minister, however, stressed that GH¢50 was not a proposed or approved tariff but an indication of how low collection charges could potentially fall under the new arrangement.

Under the proposed model, waste transfer stations would be established within approximately five kilometres of the communities they serve.

Mr Ayariga said the shorter distances would enable collection operators to spend less time travelling to disposal sites and instead make multiple trips during their operating hours.

He said waste collection tricycles would primarily operate at night, when traffic volumes were lower, with the proposed operating period running from about 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

“If you have five trips, you can make five trips in the night,” he said.

According to the minister, increasing the number of trips would help improve efficiency and reduce the cost associated with moving waste over long distances.

The government intends to finance the initial infrastructure required for the system, including collection vehicles, tricycles, household waste bins, transfer stations and landfill facilities.

Mr Ayariga said the state would subsequently recover part of the investment through payments made by households for waste collection, as well as revenue generated from waste separated for recycling and waste-to-energy initiatives.

Digital payments and tracking

An electronic payment platform is also being developed to allow households to pay their waste collection charges digitally.

The system is expected to reduce direct cash transactions between households and waste collection operators while improving accountability.

Mr Ayariga said the government also planned to digitally monitor collection operations, with tracking systems providing information on the locations and activities of waste collection vehicles.

He stressed that the proposed reforms were not intended to drive existing waste operators out of business.

Instead, he said, some operators could be provided with equipment under a work-and-pay arrangement to enable them to continue offering collection services within the new system.

The minister also noted that smaller tricycles would continue to play an important role in communities where large compactor trucks could not operate effectively because of narrow roads.

The proposed waste collection model forms part of a broader government plan to expand sanitation infrastructure across the country.

The plan includes the construction of additional landfill sites and waste transfer stations, as well as replacing existing open-bucket waste collection vehicles with more efficient alternatives.

Mr Ayariga said the ultimate objective was to make waste collection more affordable while improving the movement of refuse from households to transfer stations, treatment facilities and final disposal sites.

He expressed confidence that the reforms would significantly improve sanitation outcomes.

“I am 100 per cent confident that we will win this fight,” Mr Ayariga said.