Dozens of tricycle waste collectors have been stuck at the Oti Landfill in Kumasi for four days, unable to offload their loads. Now they're threatening to dump the rotting trash at unauthorised locations if the authorities don't act.
The waste collectors, members of the Sanitation Tricycle Riders Association, say the landfill has become a nightmare. Chairman Salim Mohammed blames repeated breakdowns of compacting and levelling equipment. Without working machines, waste piles up, and there's no space for new arrivals.
On Monday, frustrated operators set tyres ablaze at the site to demand action. “The Kumasi Mayor, Richard Ofori Agyemang, came here to witness our challenges and made promises and gave directives to resolve these issues, which we appreciate. But the challenges are worsening now,” Salim said.
One collector, Baffour Bempah, warned that if nothing changes by close of day, they'll offload waste illegally. “We've been stranded here for four days with tricycles full of decomposing waste and nowhere to offload,” he said.
Some collectors now sleep at the landfill to guard their tricycles from thieves. “We have to sleep here to protect our tricycles because if you leave them here, someone may steal them,” Bempah added.
The congestion means waste collection across Kumasi has stalled. “Our communities are already choking on filth because collection has stalled,” Bempah said.
Salim appealed directly to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to intervene. “Asantehene, you're our last hope. We're pleading for new equipment at the Oti Landfill and sufficient land to contain the waste so tricycle operators can work without these constant challenges. We're suffering,” he said as he and his members knelt.
The Oti Landfill is Kumasi's main waste disposal site. It serves both municipal trucks and private tricycle operators who collect waste from residential areas. The breakdown of equipment has caused periodic closures before, but this four-day shutdown is one of the longest.
Mayor Ofori Agyemang has visited the site several times and promised repairs. But the collectors say those promises haven't been kept. With waste decomposing in the rain, the health risk to nearby communities grows by the day.
If the collectors follow through on their threat, illegal dumping could create new health hazards across the city. The situation also threatens the livelihoods of the tricycle operators, who earn money per trip and can't work while stuck in line.
For now, the collectors remain at the landfill, waiting. They say they'll give authorities until the end of the day before taking matters into their own hands.