The rapid increase in urban population due to the influx of the citizenry in search for better conditions of life has resulted in poor environmental conditions in most urban and peri-urban settlements in the country. Municipal solid waste management (MSW) for that matter has become problematic within Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis as the city is being inundated with so much filth which has proven to be very difficult and seemingly impossible for the municipal authorities to tackle. This study investigates the nature of solid waste problem in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. A mixed methodological approach including field investigation, questionnaire survey, and structured and face-to-face interviews were employed in the gathering of data for the study. The key findings established to be the factors affecting effective solid waste management in the metropolis are irregular solid waste collection, inadequate operational funding, inappropriate technologies, inadequate staffing, inadequate skip, and lack of cooperation on the part of the citizenry. 1. Introduction Though the need for solid waste management became necessary ever since nomadic life was discarded, the initial concern of society was on movement of waste out of the immediate human settlement. This was largely possible because, during the prehistoric era, human population was quite low and the amounts of waste generated were quite minimal and biodegradable [1]. The proper management of solid waste became a major problem overwhelming practically all communities of the world today as a result of growing human population, changes in habits and lifestyle, rising disposable income, technological and scientific advancement, and increasingly greater production and consumption of new products [2]. These factors have acted in concert to increase both the quantity and complexity of waste being generated. This have long rendered ineffective and detrimental any waste management strategies dependent on nature’s capacity in the nullification of those substances. In Ghana, deficiencies in solid waste management (SWM) are most visible in and around urban and peri-urban areas [3]. Despite the present concerns of individuals and the government about waste management in Ghana, Sekondi-Takoradi, one of the urban towns in the country, is still faced with serious solid waste management problems [4]. The worsening solid waste situation in many urban settlements in Ghana and in Sekondi-Takoradi in particular has been a major concern both to the government and the indigenes as a whole. This is because the health implications of
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