Government Plans Major Evacuation of Jamestown Waste to Adipa Landfill in Nsawam

The government has begun preparations for a major exercise to evacuate the huge volume of accumulated waste at Jamestown in Accra and transport it to the Adipa Waste Management Centre, an engineered landfill facility at Nsawam in the Eastern Region.

The move forms part of the government’s emergency response to the worsening sanitation situation in parts of the capital and follows a series of inspections by the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Mahama Ayariga.

Hon. Ayariga announced the evacuation plan on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, after visiting the Adipa facility to assess its capacity to receive waste from Jamestown.

The visit came a day after the Minister inspected several major waste management facilities in the Greater Accra Region, including the Jamestown and Achimota Waste Transfer Stations, the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP), and the Kpone landfill site.

According to the Minister, the inspections were intended to provide government with a clearer understanding of the country’s waste management infrastructure and help identify urgent measures to address sanitation challenges in Accra.

Following his inspection of the waste situation at Jamestown, Hon. Ayariga said he had engaged the Ministers for Roads and Highways, Finance and Defence to develop an emergency plan to clear the accumulated waste.

He explained that one of the major challenges was finding a suitable facility capable of receiving the large volume of waste once it was removed from Jamestown.

“The four of us have put in place a plan to evacuate all that waste out of Jamestown. The issue is, where do you send it when you take it?”

The government subsequently contacted Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, whose subsidiary operates the Adipa landfill.

Hon. Ayariga said Dr. Agyepong confirmed that the facility was available to receive the waste if government could mobilise the necessary trucks and equipment.

“We called Dr Siaw Agyepong and discussed it with him, and he indicated that the Adipa landfill site is available.”

He added that the arrangement would allow government to transport the waste from Jamestown directly to the engineered landfill at Nsawam.

Before the evacuation begins, the government intends to conduct a technical assessment of the waste accumulated at Jamestown.

The assessment will determine the estimated volume of waste, the distance between Jamestown and the Adipa facility, the number of trucks required, the number of trips to be made and the amount of fuel needed.

The Director of Highways and his technical team are expected to participate in the exercise.

Hon. Ayariga explained that the information would enable government to develop a realistic logistics plan and determine how quickly the waste could be removed.

“If you calculate the volume of waste, then you know how many trucks you need. And if you calculate the distance and how long it will take, then you also know how many trips it will take to be able to evacuate the waste.”

The Roads and Highways Ministry is expected to provide some logistics for the operation, while the government is also engaging major construction companies operating in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions.

The companies are being asked to make trucks and other heavy-duty equipment available for the evacuation.

According to Hon. Ayariga, several contractors have already expressed their willingness to support the exercise, with some offering their equipment voluntarily.

“We are engaging them, and they have all expressed a willingness to support. In fact, in some cases, they have voluntarily offered to make their trucks and equipment available to assist the government in evacuating the waste from there.

The technical assessment will ultimately determine how many trucks are needed and the estimated duration of the entire operation.

Government is also planning to deploy the military to secure portions of Jamestown that are cleared of waste.

The security presence is intended to prevent people from returning to the area to dump refuse, litter the surroundings or occupy the cleared land illegally.

Hon. Ayariga said the military would take responsibility for protecting the area after the evacuation.

“After we’ve moved out of the Jamestown area, the military will take responsibility for protecting that area and making sure that we don’t bring back waste. And also squatters don’t stay on the land that we have cleared and create a mess again for us.”

The Minister said the security component was necessary to ensure that the government’s investment in the cleanup exercise was not undermined by renewed dumping or encroachment.

He also disclosed that the Ministry of Finance had plans for the redevelopment of the area after the waste had been removed.

To ensure that the evacuation is completed quickly, the government is considering temporary closures of some roads along the transportation routes.

Hon. Ayariga said the exercise could be organised over selected weekends when traffic volumes may be easier to manage.

Under the proposed arrangement, specific routes could be closed temporarily to ordinary vehicular traffic to allow waste trucks to move without significant delays.

“We may choose a certain Saturday and Sunday and say that on this Saturday and Sunday, we are going to be doing evacuation. Therefore, this route is closed to all vehicular movement.”

He said the waste trucks would operate under police protection during the exercise.

The arrangement is expected to allow the trucks to move continuously and complete the evacuation within the shortest possible period.

“Only the trucks that are dislodging will be on the road, protected by the police, so that there can be speedy evacuation of the waste and we can finish within a short period of time.”

The Operations Manager of Waste Landfill Company Ltd, Richard Omane Mensah, said the Adipa facility has sufficient capacity to accommodate the additional waste expected from Jamestown.

According to him, the facility has the capacity to receive more than 3,000 tonnes of waste per day and operates around the clock.

“This site has the capacity to receive over 3,000 tons a day. And I’m happy to also let you know that we operate 24 hours a day.”

Mr Mensah said the facility currently receives between 1,500 and 1,600 tonnes of waste each day.

He explained that approximately 800 to 900 tonnes are received during the night, while another 700 to 800 tonnes are handled during the day.

“We are receiving over 800 to 900 tons of waste at night alone. And then in the daytime we are receiving about 700 to 800 tons in the daytime.”

He assured the government that the facility was ready to receive the waste that would be evacuated from Jamestown.

“We are ready to receive all the waste that is coming, that will be evacuated to this over 200-acre land.”

Mr Mensah explained that the landfill is being developed in cells, allowing additional sections to be constructed progressively as the demand for disposal space increases.

He said the facility’s location outside the densely developed Accra metropolis gives it an advantage over landfill sites located within heavily populated communities.

According to him, the availability of a large tract of land at Adipa makes it more suitable for long-term waste management.

“Because Accra is developed, there is no way you can get a big piece of land as we have here. So we have to move away from the community. We can’t have a landfill within a very developed area.”

He estimated that the facility could potentially support waste management operations for between 35 and 50 years, depending on the volume of waste it receives over time.

Despite the facility’s capacity, Mr Mensah identified the condition of some access roads leading to the landfill as a potential challenge.

He cautioned that poor road conditions could force waste trucks to reduce their speed, potentially affecting the pace of the planned evacuation.

“At a certain point, we have to slow down because the road was not secure. Now, that will slow the trucks. And given the volume of work involved…”

The condition of the roads is therefore expected to be considered as part of the government’s logistical planning before the exercise begins.

Government is expected to finalise the Jamestown evacuation plan after the technical assessment has been completed.

The assessment will provide details on the total volume of waste, the number of trucks required, the number of trips, fuel requirements, transportation routes and the estimated duration of the operation.

If implemented as planned, the exercise would remove a significant quantity of accumulated waste from Jamestown and create an opportunity for the area to be redeveloped.

The proposed military security arrangement is also expected to prevent the cleared areas from being used again for indiscriminate dumping or unauthorised occupation.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts by the government to strengthen waste management and tackle persistent sanitation challenges in Accra.