Gender Perception of Solid Waste Management in the Sunyani Municipality in the Bono Region of Ghana

Sustainable Development Goal Six is about ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Sanitation situation in the Sunyani Municipality is getting worse and the role of gender in the worsening sanitation situation has least been explored. The cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behaviour in harmony and avoid disharmony (or dissonance). Similarly, respondents with a good perception of solid waste management would experience dissonance when they engage in inappropriate solid waste management practices. Hence, respondents’ perception of solid waste management helps to deduce their attitude and behaviour towards solid waste disposal practices. The study examined gender perception of waste and waste management in the Municipality. By adopting the pragmatism philosophy, data were collected through a quantitative approach and both case study and survey research designs were adopted for the research. Primary Data for the study were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and semi-structured interviews whereas a purposive sampling technique was used to select the four study areas. A sample of 304 households comprising 76 households from each community using the systematic random sampling method was used for the study. The results revealed that both males and females have a satisfactory to good knowledge and perceptions on solid waste and waste management. However, perceptions may differ in terms of gender and other contributing factors such as age, education, income and culture. As a result, waste generation surpasses the capacity of waste management companies for waste collection and disposal. Also, most respondents did not sort their solid waste into different categories before disposing of it. The study recommends that the Municipal Assembly implement good waste disposal measures through the development and effective implementation of bylaws that will better improve sanitation in the Municipality.