Tricycle operators, popularly known in the local parlance as ‘Aboboyaas’ involved in the waste collection business, are able to collect 30 per cent of the total waste generated in Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Mayor of Accra, has said.

According to Mr Sowah, the local contractors tasked with the mandate of collecting waste in Accra do not have the capacity to collect all the waste generated in Accra, a situation that makes the involvement of the tricycles in the business apt.

Mr Sowah told Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) on Accra 100.5FM’s Ghana Yensom show on Monday, 8 April 2019 that an assessment was done on the capability of the contractors in waste collection. At the end of the assessment, he said, it was concluded that the contractors alone could not execute the task, hence the recognition given to the tricycles.

“30 per cent of the waste collected in Accra are collected by the tricycles. When you don’t have enough equipment then you have to rely on other means like the tricycles.

“In every area, you have a contractor there but the capacity of the contractors is not enough to be able to deal with the waste generated. And that is why the tricycles are filling the gap.

“When we did an assessment of how waste is collected between 2011 and 2016 we just came to the conclusion that the capacity of private contractors is not enough.”