Planning and managing urban organic solid waste in an African city: Linking organic solid waste composting to urban cultivation in Accra, Ghana, West Africa

The main objective of the research was to explore. demonstrate, and develop effective and sustained linkages between urban farming and municipal solid waste management through organic solid waste composting as an urban management and resource conservation strategy to improve the efficiency of' municipal solid waste management practices in Accra, Ghana.;This study adopted a qualitative approach using multiple data gathering techniques (eg. participant observation, semi-structured face-to-face interviews, informal discussions and conversations with local farmers, government officials, waste generators, urban management institutions users and potential users of compost to gather different kinds of information and data. The field work consisted of a socio-economic survey and a community-based source separation and composting demonstration project.;Major findings from the study were: (i) a significant proportion of the city's organic solid waste which can be composted is wasted; (ii) recycling organic solid waste into urban cultivation can divert enormous quantities of waste from the city's waste stream; (iii) the practice of using untreated waste in the form of wastewater cow and chicken manure is common and widespread; (iv) the availability of incentives, familiarity and knowledge about source separation and composting, and collection systems used impact on participation rate and the sustainability of community-based source separation and composting projects; (v) urban cultivation in Accra is an age-old and predominantly male activity undertaken by migrants and (vi) availability and security to land are major problems facing urban cultivators in Accra. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).