Locations
Waste Management & Climate Action | Ghana
Waste2Compost — Integrated Recycling & Composting Programme
Transforming Ghana's urban waste sector by converting municipal solid waste into high-quality organic fertiliser — reducing emissions, creating jobs, and building sustainable cities.
Ghana generates approximately 6,570 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually, with over 70% coming from households. The majority of this waste — largely organic and plastic — ends up in unmanaged dumpsites and limited landfills, releasing harmful methane emissions and leaving significant value-added potential untapped. This Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMO) programme, implemented under the Ghana-Switzerland Article 6.2 bilateral agreement, establishes integrated recycling and composting plants in four urban cities — Dambai, Gaoso, Sunyani, and Ho — diverting waste from landfills, producing grade 'A' compost for agriculture, recovering recyclable materials, and generating carbon revenues to sustain operations and attract private investment.
🟠 Project Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Donor | Government of Switzerland (Carbon Revenue Purchaser) |
| Sponsor | Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) |
| Implementing Partner | IRECOP (Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant) — Jospong Group of Companies |
| Coordinating Agency | Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ghana |
| UNDP Role | Day-to-day management oversight in coordination with EPA and IRECOP |
| Locations | Dambai, Gaoso, Sunyani, Ho |
| Objective | Enhance sustainable urban waste management and increase the market for environmentally friendly fertilisers through integrated composting and recycling |
Turning Ghana's Waste into Wealth — For People and Planet
The Waste2Compost programme is redefining how Ghana manages its urban waste. By establishing four state-of-the-art composting facilities in Dambai, Gaoso, Sunyani, and Ho, the programme is diverting thousands of tonnes of organic waste from landfills, producing high-quality fertiliser for farmers, recovering recyclable materials for sale, and creating 1,000 direct jobs — particularly for women. Through the Ghana-Switzerland Article 6.2 ITMO partnership, the programme is also generating internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, channelling carbon revenues back into sustaining and scaling Ghana's circular waste economy.
