Examining the roles and challenges of informal waste pickers in the solid waste management of the Tamale Metropolis of Northern Ghana

The study is centred on the roles and challenges of informal waste pickers, specifically in their indirect contribution to Municipal waste Management. I have adopted power theory and concepts from the field of political ecology and ecological economics to highlight the roles and challenges faced by informal waste pickers. The research findings indicates that informal waste pickers are pivotal in the recovery of recyclable materials in the waste management front in the Tamale Metropolis. They constitute the source of raw materials to recycling industries. By so doing, they reduce the quantum of waste both on the streets and at landfill site. Whiles earning a livelihood, they contribute to urban ecological sustainability and resilience. The study further pointed out that informal waste pickers are socially marginalized and politically excluded despite their significant contribution in the waste management front. The numerous challenges they face is attributed to policy neglect. Though the thematic concern of the thesis is informal waste pickers, the study has delve into metabolism of waste and how it generates conflicts due to unequal distribution of environmental goods and bad. This is central to understanding the injustices that exist in the waste management front in the Tamale Metropolis.