According to a new report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, waste should be treated as a strategic national asset rather than an environmental burden.
The report, titled “An Economic Analysis of the Benefits of Adequate Investment in Waste Management and Sanitation in Ghana,” was launched in Accra on February 25 2026.
The release noted, Ghana could unlock nearly GHS 48 billion in annual economic benefits by 2032 if it significantly increases investment in waste management and sanitation.
The new economic study is urging government to rethink how Ghana manages waste, warning that the country is losing more than six billion cedis every year due to poor sanitation systems.
The report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research says waste should no longer be treated as mere refuse, but as a high-value economic resource.
ISSER Director, Peter Quartey, explains that strategic investment in modern waste management could improve public health, boost productivity, create jobs and even generate energy.
It further added that, currently, Ghana loses about 5.5 billion cedis in healthcare costs linked to sanitation-related diseases, and another 650 million cedis in lost productivity. Poor sanitation is also blamed for more than 107 thousand premature deaths annually and nearly 32 million lost work and school days.
But under what researchers describe as a best-case scenario with increased spending of about 1028 cedis per tonne of waste, Ghana could generate up to 47.9 billion cedis in annual benefits by 2032.
The study also points to the potential for compost production, recycling, and up to 1,484 megawatts of electricity from waste-to-energy initiatives.
Despite this, all 261 local assemblies together spend only about 180 million cedis annually on waste management.
ISSER is now calling for urgent policy reforms and stronger public-private partnerships, insisting Ghana faces a critical choice, continue losing billions, or transform waste into a multi-billion-cedi engine of growth.
