Developing an option for sustainable plastic waste management in Ghana: a case study of Sunyani Municipality, Ghana
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Date
June, 2015
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Abstract
Urbanization and continuous economic growth of Sunyani municipality have resulted in rapid
increase in volume and types of solid waste. This thesis provided a consolidated data on
municipal solid waste (MSW) generation, as well as data on plastic waste component of the
MSW which is quite problematic. The total amount of waste collected during the study
period of one month was 6857.1 kg and an average of 685.68 kg per day. The study results
shows that the total amount of 2,516,823.3 kg of solid waste is generated in the municipality
for the period of one month which translate to an average of 83,894.11 kg of MSW generated
daily. The solid waste generation rate was 0.57 kg per person per day. The average amount of
plastic waste generated daily was found to be23851.7 kg and this represents 22.93% of the
MSW. The plastic waste generation rate was 0.14 kg per person per day. The percentage of
various sorted types of plastic in the MSW were as follows: PET (12.94%), HDPE (4.95%),
PVC (0.01%), LDPE (17.26%),PP (14.59%), PS (11.24%), Others (5.14%) and HDPE/LDPE
composite (sachet water plastic) (34.61%). The sachet water plastic, which is without resin
code, was analysed and identified by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) machine. The sachet
water plastic, which is also the most abundant plastic component in the MSW was pelletized
into recyclate (pellets) which is stored and can be sold to other recycling companies.
Description
A thesis submitted to The Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Polymer Science and Technology, 2015