Let’s minimize the “trash” talk! Waste disposal not major contributing factor to Accra floods
An engineering perspective argues that indiscriminate waste disposal is not the primary cause of Accra's recurring floods. The author identifies insufficient drainage infrastructure and increased runoff from urban development as the main drivers of the problem.
Why it matters
Challenges common public narratives regarding urban flooding, emphasizing the need for structural engineering solutions over behavioral blame.
Every rainy season, the same images circulate: cars stalled in floodwater, homes inundated, markets shut down, and floating solid waste. The most observable reaction of people is to point to one culprit - usually solid waste clogging the gutters. Even the President H.E. John Dramani Mahama has regurgitated the same thoughts and highlighted indiscriminate disposal of solid waste as one of the major causes of the Accra floods. While I do not make excuses for bad behaviour, magnifying the impact of solid waste on floods oversimplifies a genuinely complex engineering and policy problem. Urban flooding is rarely caused by just one thing and I will like to repeat that indiscriminate solid waste disposal is NOT a major contributing factor. It's the result of multiple, interconnected factors, and solving it requires more than one fix.
The article presents an expert opinion that contradicts official government narratives, but it is framed as a professional engineering analysis.
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