Characterization of dumpsite waste of different ages in Ghana

Open dumping of municipal solid waste is a common practice in developing countries including Ghana and it creates major problems in many municipalities and towns in the countries, and therefore, the dumpsites need to be reclaimed or decommissioned after years of dumping. However, it becomes challenging to infer from the results of studies from other part of the world for dumpsites in Ghana since they may have different waste characteristics. Therefore, this study sought to characterize the dumpsite waste with different age groups from urban city and small town to ascertain the impacts of aging of deposited waste on waste fractions, it also assessed the waste components at different depths within the same and different age groups in both small-town and urban dumpsites; for waste deposited more than 5 years (Zone A), 2–4 years (Zone B), and less than 6 months (Zone C) in Bono region, Ghana. Waste (100 kg) was taken at surface, 0.5 m, 1.0 m and 1.5 m and reduced to 50 kg using coning and quartering method; dried, segregated and analyzed. Plastics waste (24.5–28.1%) increased with age at urban, and increased (5.4–8.5%) with depth at small town dumpsite. Plastic waste was second to Decomposed organic matter (DOM) at both dumpsites. The metal (<1.0%) at all depths in all age groups for both sites. DOM fine particle sizes (FPS) decreased with depth, 26.8% (surface waste) and 14.4% (1.5 m depth), at both dumpsites. Statistically significant effects of age on plastics, metal, DOM-CPS, DOM-FPS (p < 0.05) at urban dumpsite. However, at small town dumpsite, effect of age was statistically significant on only DOM-CPS and DOM-FPS (p < 0.05). The pH, EC, and TDS for both dumpsites decreased with increasing age, and increased with depth. The study provides relevant scientific findings for stakeholders to develop policy framework for dumpsite decommissioning or reclamation.