The construction industry is a vital part of every nation’s economy. Construction activities influence the social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainability. There are so many barriers to sustainable construction and demolition waste management (C&DWM). This study aims to identify barriers for effective sustainable C&DWM in developed and developing countries. To achieve the objective, 11 barriers have been selected and identified based on an excessive and comprehensive literature review, and then reviewed by experts. These reviewed barriers were further examined by various experts within different organizations using a questionnaire survey. Ranking of the barriers was carried out using the Relative Importance Index (RI), and the results were statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Practical solutions were proposed to overcome the identified barriers. The overall ranking of barriers by RI indicates that insufficient attention paid to C&DWM, lack of law enforcement, lack of regulation, and financial constraints represent the four major barriers to sustainable C&DWM in these countries. The findings of this study and the proposed solutions are enablers for decision-makers to develop effective strategies to tackle construction and demolition wastes in sustainable manners.
Background. The generation and management of solid waste pose potential adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Objective. The present study examines the operational performance of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal in the Wa Municipality, Ghana. Methods. The study applied both qualitative and quantitative research methods and modelled the Wa Municipality's MSW disposal system using the municipal solid waste decision support tool (MSW DST). Acid gases (sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides) and total particulate matter that have a direct impact on human health were set as the objective functions for modelling five MSW disposal scenarios. The modelled scenarios were: 1) landfill disposal only; 2) composting and landfill disposal; 3) composting, incineration, refuse derived fuels (RDF) and landfill disposal; 4) separation, composting, incineration, RDF and landfill disposal; and 5) separation, transfer, material recovery, composting, incineration, RDF and landfill disposal. The pollutants chosen as indicators for substance flow analysis included lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, copper, chromium, and zinc. Results. Scenarios 4 and 5 produced the least engineering cost of 1 150 000 US $/year for the entire MSW disposal system, whereas scenario 2 produced the highest cost of 1 340 000 US $/year. Scenario 5 produced the least average health impacts of −5.812E-04 lbs/year, while scenario 2 generated the highest engineering cost and produced the highest average health impact of 9.358E-05 lbs/year. Scenarios 5 and 4, which included waste-to-energy conversion in the systems, produced the lowest average health impacts (−5.812E-04 lbs/year and −5.611E-04 lbs/year, respectively). Conclusions. The adoption of an integrated solid waste management concept, including waste-to-energy technologies, will not only help to lessen MSW disposal hazards, but also to produce alternative sources of energy for Ghana and other developing countries. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests
Water quality analysis is an essential component of water supply globally. This study analyzed drinking water quality at the tap in the Wa Municipality of Ghana. Bacteriological, physicochemical, aesthetic, and some chemical parameters of raw, treated and tap water was analyzed. The analysis showed that drinking tap water has a good quality and was satisfactory according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines for drinking water. However, an assessment of consumers’ perception of water consumption profiles revealed that 25 % of the respondents claimed that the water quality was bad and had some taste that may be attributable to the long period of water storage. Therefore, it is recommended that the post chlorination dose should be increased to ensure the disinfection requirements and avoid any post-treatment contamination.
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