Assessing the Efficiency of Bin-Centered Solid Waste Segregation System in Ashanti Region, Ghana

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) established a waste segregation system that provided plastic waste to feed a plastic recycling facility to improve solid waste management in 2017. However, since the establishment of the segregation system, there has not been any assessment to ascertain its efficiency. Hence, this research seeks to assess the efficiency of KNUST's waste segregation system. The study utilized a quantitative research approach method to assess the efficiency of the segregation system. A total of 500 randomly selected participants, including students, lecturers, administrators, cleaners, and other staff, participated in the survey. Also, to ascertain the efficiency of the segregation system, through stratified random sampling, 67 bins were selected for the segregation of plastic waste. The results indicated poor attitudes towards segregation, low adherence, and ineffectiveness. Analysis of the waste components generated on campus revealed that 64.7% of the participants generated paper as part of the total waste produced, a substantial 83.5% generated plastics, 82.5% generated food waste, and 28.2% generated tins/cans. A corresponding 9.4%, 11.24%, and 4.4% generated fiber bags, glass, and other waste types, respectively. The plastic waste stream consists of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and polystyrene (PS). Of the participants, 43.9% knew about waste segregation on campus, and 75.5% had seen the bins. Of the participants, 56.5% knew what the color codes of the bins meant. Barriers to effective segregation included low publicity, insufficient bins, and low monitoring. Management should intensify publicity, introduce more bins, and diversify the system.