The Perspective of an Expert - Solomon Noi

Solomon Noi, Head of Waste Management for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, explains the unique challenges posed by managing imported secondhand clothing waste. Can we achieve collective accountability?
Solomon believes that the complications caused by clothing waste are responsible for the August’19 fire at Kpone Landfill. This fire is ongoing, so Accra’s waste is being dumped in an informal landfill or quarry - neither of which are sustainable long term. What are his choices?
A) Reopen Kpone once there is no visible smoke, risking the lives of 500+ Pickers by allowing them to work on a mountain of trash that is emitting toxins, has hidden sink holes due to subterranean burn and could explode further once vehicles return.
B) Apply for foreign financing to build a new sanitary landfill. This would take over a year & puts Ghana in debt even though the clothing waste is foreign waste.
Solomon’s knowledge is unique. In the USA clothing/textiles make up ~8% of landfills. While this is a growing problem for the USA, the % is still small. In Ghana, clothing waste from Kantamanto alone represents 20% of the planned capacity of Kpone landfill (informal dumps are much higher).
Landfills are alive, teaming with organisms, emitting gas, digesting our trash. Just as what we eat impacts our health, landfill chemistry requires a balanced diet. Composition matters. The excess clothing generated by the Global North is throwing off the chemistry of landfills in Ghana. This is not ok.
Solomon is an Engineer and an EXPERT on waste management. He travels the world (developed & developing economies) speaking and learning about waste management, sustainability and recycling. We want to underscore his credibility because when the ITV story ( • How fast fashion choic... ) came out Solomon was featured along with the voices of retailers and myself. That news story caused a stir and behind the scenes we were challenged, our research scrutinized, by some people with a vested interest in exporting clothing to Ghana. That’s fine. That’s the actual work. And we are grateful for the conversations that arose. But it was upsetting because the voices of Kantamanto’s retailers and of Solomon were not acknowledged. It was as if their lived experience and their deep knowledge were invalid. Mr. Solomon Noi knows what he is talking about and he deserves our attention.
Directed by Liz Ricketts
Camera, Editing and Sound Design by Branson
Additional Footage by Daniel Attoh
For more:
deadwhitemansclothes.org
/ theorispresent

[@luaevablue]

I'll suggest adding subtitles to these videos, I'm not familiar with this accent and it's hard to understand such important topics. Makes it more accessible.

[@smilingdog2219]

If I may add, I agree with this expert on quality of import and poor quality should be rejected long before it reaches their shore. It appears the exporter is dumping it's unwanted waste into Ghana.

[@smilingdog2219]

Strategically, it is counter productive to attack the problem at the end of the line (ocean & landfill). A sustainable solution is to break the chain of mass waste, or reduce it to a manageable challenge. I see a need to shift away from used textile street markets by introducing a popular alternative. The process would be gradual but with marketing the idea, it would build momentum. What do people need and want? Why would they prefer change? What is the immediate benefit to the person taking a risk in careers, from flea markets to a new idea?