Speaking during a stakeholder engagement on the proposed amendments, the Deputy Director of Waste Management at the AMA, Mr. Victor Kotey, said that the review was critical to addressing the structural gaps in the existing regulations and ensuring they meet modern waste management practices and climate action commitments.

?Mr. Kotey noted that the current sanitation bye-laws, which were enacted in 2017, do not adequately promote waste separation at source or support Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM).

?He said the revised bye-laws would provide a legal framework for implementing the city’s waste optimisation strategy, with emphasis on the segregation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into organic, recyclable, and residual components.

?She assured that updated bye-laws were expected to strengthen the city’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector, which currently accounts for over 40 percent of Accra’s total emissions.

?He explained that the updated regulations would mandate the use of colour-coded bins—green for organic waste, black for residual waste, and brown for recyclables—by all waste generators adding that , the bye-laws would stipulate the type of collection vehicles, collection frequencies, and disposal methods in accordance with environmentally sound practices.

?Mr. Kotey pointed out that both formal and informal waste service providers would be engaged under the new legal regime, with provisions to formalise and support the operations of informal collectors who currently handle a significant portion of the city’s waste.

?The review is being supported by the C40 Cities Climate Action Implementation Programme, which is assisting Accra to meet its climate targets under the Paris Agreement.