Faecal sludge management has been a burden for most waste managers particularly in developing countries; yet a sure way of preventing the continuous disposal of this waste into drains, bushes water bodies and the environs in general has been by treatment. The introduction of a new treatment plant with the UASB technology in the management process of faecal sludge has been much welcomed as an improved technology for solving the treatment problems of the waste; but this technology is not without some challenges. It has no design criteria for the treatment of other wastes that it screens from faecal sludge. This paper assessed the foreign material load in faecal sludge dislodged at the treatment plant at the Lavender hill a suburb of the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The foreign materials in the faecal sludge were categorized into their material composition or items that were relatively easy to recognized. The characteristic components were Textile/Fabric, Condoms, Gravels, Metal, Glass, Sanitary pads, Rubber/Plastics and Others' (cotton wool, mobile phones, broom sticks, paper wrappers, cartons, wallets, ID cards, money, feotus). The faecal sludge of Greater Accra region of Ghana contains about 0.24kg of foreign materials per cubic metre of the faecal sludge. Of this composition, the highest contribution was seen to have come from plastics contributing about 36.80%. Sanitary pads, textiles, 'others' category, condoms, stones, metals and glasses respectively contributing 29.89%,18.55%, 7.47%, 3.74%, 2.52%, 0.06% and 0.16%. The order of the load of the foreign materials were seen to be in the order of Plastics/Rubbers > Sanitary pads >Textiles/Fabrics > Others > Condoms > Gravels > Glass > Metals. These wastes pose mechanical and technical challenges to the treatment plant. Inasmuch as responsible environmental behavior through public sensitization on proper use of pit latrines in particular and the need for their redesign to make them almost impossible for use as dumping pits for other wastes were recommended, the utilization of some of these foreign materials that have the potential to be reused like the money, memory chips or mobile phones could potentially be a source of spread for disease like cholera and diarrhea as the FS contains a lot of pathogenic bacteria.

Faecal sludge (FS) management is pertinent to the achievement of sustainable development goal 6.2 around the world; yet it is constrained by urbanisation challenges, waste management complexities, and defective attitudes. These deny communities of the plausible supply of resources from FS. This paper assesses the perception underpinning the occurrence of nonfaecal matter in FS in Ghana. Primary data were obtained from 400 respondents in four communities in Brong Ahafo and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana, using a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed by using STATA software version 15. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were conducted on all independent variables and statistical significance was accepted at p < 0.05 . The study identified the following as the most perceived frequently disposed nonfaecal matter into FS: sanitary pads and diapers (38.5%), fabrics/rags (23.2%), toilet rolls (20.8%), razor/shaving sticks (10.3%), and others (7.2%). Gender, state of toilet facility (roof or unroofed), presence of container for collecting other types of waste in the toilet room, and state of container in toilet room either covered or uncovered were the factors found to be significantly associated with the disposal of solid waste (SW) into FS at 95% confidence level. The fear of exposing used sanitary materials for rituals, the use of fabric as an alternative to toilet rolls, and the desire to conceal aborted pregnancies from the public were some of the reasons alluded to the disposal acts. Education and awareness campaigns on proper SW disposal practices, appropriate use of toilet facilities, and the resource potentials of FS were found to be the best way forward to discourage indiscriminate disposal of SW into FS.