Waste Management Workers’ Safety Concerns during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ghana

Abstract

Waste management is one of urgent challenges in the world. In rapidly growing cities of developing countries like Accura, Ghana, waste collection is done without sufficient protection of workers. This situation became worse when the COVID-19 pandemic began to threaten the health and safety of waste collection workers. This paper aims to examine waste management workers' safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. To better understand waste management workers' safety concerns during the pandemic, we used the questionnaire survey. Our questionnaire survey was conducted among 60 waste management workers in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. The study then discusses how municipal waste management authorities can ensure safety of waste management workers during the pandemic. Our results showed that 58% of the respondents were worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, while 20% were not even sure of the existence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides their worry, we also found that about 40% of the respondents had access to face masks/shields at their workplace, and 30% had hand sanitizers. This paper highlights that providing more advanced safety protocols in terms of workers daily operations and safety measures will enable a safe working environment for the workers even in terms of future pandemics.

Assessing the determinants of occupational health risks among domestic waste collectors

“…The nature of the job exposes solid waste workers to a high risk of fatal, and nonfatal occupational accidents, often resulting in sickness, impaired health, and well-being. In addition, these occupational accidents cause tissue damage, respiratory infections, injuries from glass, razor blades, and syringes, as well as parasite infections caused by skin contact with solid waste (Alam & Ahmade, 2013;Mensah-Akoto & Matsui, 2022;Padmanabhan & Barik, 2018;Vimercati et al, 2016).…”

“…DWCs are often persons with low socio-economic status and with a low self-esteem and motivation (Gyekye, 2006;Vidanaarachchi, Yuen, & Pilapitiya, 2006), and their working conditions are frequently deplorable (Gyekye, 2006;Mensah-Akoto & Matsui, 2022). In many cases, waste collection is primarily a means of survival, leaving them vulnerable to hazardous working conditions.…”

“…In Ghana for instance, in Ho municipality, DWCs who work for waste companies are perceived by the public as a job for people of low socioeconomic status, have inadequate legal protection, and are disrespected. Several of the case examples found reports of DWCs keeping a low profile and hiding their occupation from their communities to protect the safety and well-being of their families (Marello & Helwege, 2018;Mensah-Akoto & Matsui, 2022;Vidanaarachchi et al, 2006). In addition, decreased well-being and reduced job satisfaction of employees negatively affect the effectiveness of waste management companies (Gyekye, 2006;Pacheco et al, 2021;Ramos, McGinley, & Carlo, 2021;Shan, Liu, Gu, & Zhao, 2022).…”