Accra is booming. But it's struggling to keep its streets, sewers and seas clear of rubbish, especially plastic. Frustrated residents want real solutions.
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00:01Ghana's capital, Accra, adds more buildings, more roads and more rubbish each year.
00:07The city generates about 900,000 metric tons of solid waste annually.
00:11I see a lot of litter on our streets or even like in grassy areas and it makes the community look very dirty.
00:18The reach of these waste management services are not as wide as they should be.
00:25With dumpsides full, waste is often burned, leaving a heavy, choking smog hanging over neighboring areas.
00:31Plastic pollution has become a very big menace.
00:34It's affecting so many communities who rely on fishing activities for their livelihoods.
00:40It's also impacting our health, it's also impacting of course tourism, which is the biggest income earner for the country.
00:47With rapid urbanization and thousands of Ghanaians flocking to the West African Economic Hub for work,
00:52Accra is becoming increasingly congested.
00:55Residents face inadequate housing and many areas lack trees or shade.
00:59This is where we always sit.
01:01Child, eat food, we don't have any place to sit.
01:04We don't have any place to get fresh air unless this place.
01:07And this whole place is polluted with our own people, we ourselves.
01:14City managers have struggled to make Accra livable for all citizens.
01:18Massive investment is needed to tackle a growing waste problem and ensure that the city develops sustainably.