Assessment of the economic viability of using human waste at the Kumasi (Dompoase) landfill site for generating biogas as a domestic fuel

Abstract

This study assessed the economic viability of using human waste at the Kumasi landfill site at Dompoase for generating biogas as a domestic fuel. With regards to the possibility of Turning Human Waste into Wealth, the results revealed that; methane gas can be trapped from human waste discharged at the landfill, 82.2% of respondents agreed that they would use gas obtained from toilet without further thoughts and also use fertilizer derived from human waste on their farms.The rate of collection of waste per week in a location, the number of toilets available in an area, the duration of opening and closing of public toilets, the scent/odour emanating from the public toilets, the availability of “flying toilets” in the area, urbanization,high population density, waste from breweries, sawmills and fitting shops, ineffective sewage system and leachate from landfillwere very seriousfactors thatmajority of the respondents consented to that these factorscontributed to environmental pollution and also affectedthe cleanliness of the city. A strong relationship should exist between the government and users of the biogas and manure products and this could be done through enough educative programmes. The study recommended that;the government (being the sole investor in landfill management) should seek funds and join hands with the private sector, NGOs and Corporate bodiesto convert landfill waste into biogas and manure and that it would be an economically viable project (as confirmed by 90% of the respondents). There is energy in waste and that waste should be treated like a resource and not a thrown away. This calls for recycling, restoration and re-using of waste in order to reduce environmental pollution.The reseacher is, therefore, of the conviction that for this project to succeed it will require a lot of effort from government, academia and the private sector.