The government is targeting the creation of at least 20,000 permanent jobs through the waste management and circular economy sectors as part of plans to overhaul sanitation management across the country.
Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon Mahama Ayariga, said the proposed system would integrate waste collection, recycling and waste-to-energy initiatives while creating employment opportunities, particularly for young people and women.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, October 5, 2026, Mr Ayariga said the 20,000-job target was a conservative estimate of the employment opportunities expected to be created.
“We hope to create not less than 20,000 permanent jobs in waste management and the circular economy. I’m being very conservative here,” he said.
He explained that the initiative would be supported by investments in waste collection vehicles and tricycles, household waste bins, waste transfer stations and engineered landfill sites.
According to him, the government is developing a nationwide sanitation strategy to establish the infrastructure needed for a more efficient waste management system.
Hon Ayariga said Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson was awaiting the full cost of constructing engineered landfill sites in all regional capitals, as well as waste transfer stations in every Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly (MMDA).
The government also plans to replace the existing open-bucket tricycles used for waste collection with self-loading and self-tipping vehicles.
The minister said the change could make it easier for more women to participate in the waste management sector, noting that most of the workers currently operating the tricycles are men.
He, however, stressed that the new system would not be designed to push existing workers out of the industry.
“There are people already involved in using tricycles to convey the waste. There are people using trucks to convey the waste. We don’t want to displace them,” he said.
The minister said the government’s broader objective was to build a sanitation system that improves waste management while creating sustainable employment opportunities across the country.
