Towards Circular Economy: Policies and Acts Governing Municipal Solid Waste Management and Innovation Opportunities for Inclusive Solid Waste Management in Ghana

The rapid urbanisation in Ghana has outpaced municipal infrastructure, leaving cities like Accra struggling to manage daily waste. Municipalities and private waste management companies are struggling with significant uncollected municipal solid waste and a high reliance on unsanitary disposal methods. These problems have resulted in serious environmental degradation and public health issues. Despite Ghana having a strong legislative system, there is a significant functional disconnect between policy formulation and local implementation. This study evaluates the existing policies and acts governing Ghana's solid waste management system and explores the potential to integrate informal waste pickers into the formal system. Also, by identifying systemic gaps and policy-driven opportunities, the study seeks to recommend data-driven modelling approaches that prioritise both technological improvement and social inclusion to achieve a sustainable circular economy. Employing a convergent mixed-methods research design, the study utilised semi-structured questionnaire to collect data from 13 purposively selected expert stakeholders across different governing bodies. This allowed for quantitative descriptive method to identify systemic trends and a qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended responses, ensuring a complete evaluation of MSW governance landscape in Ghana. The findings reveal an institutional maze characterised by fragmented law enforcement, financial constraints and a complete absence of formal monitoring systems. The findings also show that informal waste pickers lack recognition, social protection and technical support. The study recommends data-driven modelling approaches such as optimisation models, multi-criteria decision-making tools and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) that align and integrate institutional frameworks with inclusive social policies.