The training which forms part of a series of capacity enhancement programmes targeted at developing waste management experts in Gha­na kick-started in the Ashanti Re­gion and participants in the region were trained on Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM), Circu­lar Economy, Composting, Landfill Management and Emissions Treat­ment and Thermal Waste Recovery (Refuse Derived Fuel).

The Project Manager of the Jo­spong-Komptech Waste Academy, Mr Jacob Kwaku Ladi, in an intro­ductory remark explained that the Jospong Group through an Interna­tional collaboration with Komptech GmbH, Austrian Developmemt Agency, Technical University of Vienna and ICEP (Social Impact NGO in Austria), acquired a grant to train and develop waste manage­ment experts in Ghana.

He stated that the project, which was launched in Accra last year, has already trained various levels of waste management profession­als, including top executives and regional executives who received expert training by Komptech and a team from the Technical University of Vienna.

Mr Ladi pointed out that, select­ed staff from the Jospong Group undertook training and field trips in Austria to serve as local trainers with the aim of scaling up the train­ing and train all district level-based waste managers nationwide.

He added that some members of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) would also be given the opportunity to undergo training.

Mr James Deku, a waste manage­ment trainer of the Academy, took the participants through the ISWM, Circular Economy, Landfill manage­ment and emissions treatment.

Mr Isaac Awuah, also a trainer of the academy, taught the participants composting and thermal energy recovery.

An excited participant, Mr Alex Fordjour (Operations Assistant at the Nwabiagya Municipal Office) expressed his excitement for receiv­ing such a comprehensive training which covers all the technical aspects of the works he undertakes at the district level.

“The training was insightful and even though I hold a Bsc in Envi­ronmental Science from KNUST, my classroom training was not as insightful as I was thought by the trainers of the Jospong-Komptech Waste Academy,” he revealed.

“I look forward to implementing all the waste management strategies in my district and help improve the public health in my community,” he added.