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At least three transfer stations are needed to manage the mounting solid waste in the Accra Metropolis, which is now threatening the health of residents in the capital. The Accra Metropolis generates in excess of 2,000 tonnes of refuse on a daily basis but the final disposal site for all the refuse is the Kpone Landfill Site in Tema, which is about 90-kilometres away. According to the Executive Secretary of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Mrs Ama Adobea Ofori-Antwi, the sheer volume of refuse generated and the long travel distance to the waste disposal site, coupled with heavy vehicular congestion on the Accra-Tema road is making the work not only difficult but also unprofitable. There is growing concern over the insanitary conditions in most areas in Accra as refuse piles up in markets and lorry parks, among other places. The bone of contention for most residents is the irregularity with which refuse is lifted. Under the prevailing conditions, residents complain that even though they have signed agreement with solid waste contractors, they find it difficult to honour their obligation of paying the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) approved fees to the contractors. Meanwhile, the approved fees have not been reviewed since 2012, which is also hurting the contractors, given the fact that the prices of fuel and spare parts have gone up. Public-private partnership The AMA, in June 2010, introduced a new solid waste management programme where it assigned zones to all its waste management companies. Within that programme, the AMA instructed the contractors to provide litter bins to registered households, lift waste regularly and collect fees from households. According to Mrs Ofori-Antwi, "all members of ESPA" were given that aspect of solid waste collection to manage. Landfill responsibility of assemblies The provision of a terminal disposal site, otherwise known as landfill site, is the responsibility of the assemblies. There is a proposal to the AMA ,however, to facilitate the search for at least three strategic transfer stations in and around the city. The transfer stations will serve as a holding area for the refuse so that it is transported to the landfill site at night, when the traffic gridlock would have eased. Mrs Ofori-Antwi said currently, the drivers made just a trip or two because of the vehicular congestion on the Accra-Tema Motorway instead of the projected six trips a day. She said her members were having a tough time collecting their service fees from their clients largely because they had not been regular in lifting their waste containers.