KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMASI

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF CHEMICAL AND

MECHANICAL ENGINNEERING

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

CENG 291-ENGINEERING IN SOCIETY

MANAGEMENT OF THE INREASED
 PLASTIC WASTE IN KUBEKROM NO. 2
BY:
JULIUS DUGBATEY
INDEX-7339421

DECEMBER,2022

• DECLARATION
I solemnly declare that the project
report titled (MANAGEMENT OF PLASTIC
WASTE IN KUBEKROM NO.2 is based on
my own work undertaken under the
general supervision of Dr. Wahib Faisal
Adams. I assert the statements made
and conclusions drawn are an outcome
of my research work.

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

2
I first and foremost give thanks to the
Almighty God who has given me the
grace to follow through with this project
to an eventual completion.
I am grateful to my family for the
support and words of encouragement
that they gave me throughout the
compilation of this report.
I also appreciate the cooperation of the
members of the community during this
whole project. The warm welcome they
gave me and the time they dedicated to
respond to my questions and provide
helpful suggestions to this project.
I also express my deepest appreciation
to my senior course mates, friends who
supported me in any way and granted
me the possibility to complete this

3
report and the guidance given by the
ENGINEERING IN SOCIETY (CENG 291)
supervisors or coordinators over social
media that has improved this report
presentation due to their comments and
advise.
• LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

• TABLE OF CONTENT
ABSTRACT………………………………………………
..i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………
…ii
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………iii

CHAPTER
ONE…………....................................1

4
INTRODUCTION……………………………………
…….1
1.1 Background to the
course……………………2
1.2 Objectives of the
assignment………………2
1.2.1 Main
Objective…………………………..2
1.2.2 Specific
Objective………………………2
1.3 Report
Content……………………………………..2

……………………………5
2.4.1
QUESTIONNAIRE………………………………5
2.4.2
RESEARCH………………………………………..6

5
CHAPTER
THREE………………………………………..7
DISCUSSION OF
RESULTS………………………..7

• CHAPTER ONE
• INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE COURSE

Course Name: ENGINEERING IN SOCIETY

(CENG 291)

Engineering is a field that requires the

application of scientific procedures to
tackle problems. Like the saying goes,
practice makes man perfect, the
6
ENGINEERING IN SOCIETY course (CENG
291) challenges all first year engineering
students to find problems related to
their field of study in their various
communities and suggest effective
solutions to them.

The course does not only improve

student’s sense of innovation but it
encourages them to appreciate solving
of societal problems that will lead to
development.

The course was introduced under the

initiative of the provost of the college of
engineering and was being made to be
deliberately taken early by students. This
is to open them up to the main aim of

7
engineering which is problem solving
right from year one so that they quickly
familiarize themselves.

• 1.2 Objectives of the assignment

1.2.1 Main Objective
The main objective is to manage plastic
waste in KUBEKROM NO.2

1.2.2 Specific Objective

Suggesting an economically cheaper but
very effective concept/solution to the
problem of unmanaged plastic waste in
KUBEKROM NO.2

1.3 REPORT CONTENT

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• Identification of disturbing problem
in KUBEKROM NO.2; Unmanaged
plastic waste
• Description of my community
• Description of the problem: causes
and effects
• Approach in solving the
problem(surveys,etc)
• Conceptual design, selection of
effective concept
• Implementation of selected
concept/solution
• Conclusion and recommendation

CHAPTER TWO
METHODOLOGY

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 2.1 Identification of the problem

Every community is one way or the other

faced with some challenges and my
community is no exception. I have been
living in KUBEKROM NO.2 quite not long
ago but I have witnessed some few
disturbing problems myself. Almost
everywhere in the community, there are
plastic litters such as plastic sachets,
bottles, wrappers, packages and
polythene along our streets which
accumulates and remain time to time

To ascertain the problem identification

and be sure it was a general problem, I
embarked on a three days survey moving
round different parts of the community

10
while keenly looking at problems of
interest, questioning other members of
the community and also seeking expert
opinion from elders and stakeholders of
the community.
2.2 Survey/questionnaire

A survey was conducted to ascertain

whether the problem of unmanaged
plastic waste was indeed an issue of
concern. Members enthusiastically
welcomed my questionnaires and readily
answered them and also gave me their
opinions. Tables 1 and figure 1 below
shows the data I gathered through
enquiries and the filing of questionnaires
by members.

11
 TABLE 1- ISSUES OF CONCERN
2.3 Map preparation
I relied on google maps for an outline of
the map my area. I took cognizance of
some well-known landmarks of my
community and with that as reference, I
obtained a map of my community. I
came up with both an outline map and a
satellite version of the map of the area.

2.4 Data collection

I needed to gather some data in order to

kick-start my project. It was done in such
a way as to provide a very precise and

12
accurate result. To do this I used the
following approaches:
 Informal interviews with my family
 Informal interviews with some
community members
 Questionnaires to random members
of my community.
 Internet based research

2.4.1 QUESTIONNAIRE

2.4.2 RESEARCH
I apart from interviews and
questionnaires I engaged with my
community, I also extensively used the
internet to probe more into the issue of

13
plastic waste, its causes and effect and
how others have been able to manage
the predicament. This went a long way
to enable me project and propose
efficient and practical solutions to the
problem.

• CHAPTER THREE

DISCUSION OF RESULTS

3.1 DESCRIPTION OF MY COMMUNITY

Kubekrom no.2 is the name of my community.
Kubekrom no.2 is a town in the Greater Accra
region with a population of about eight
hundred (800). Some communities surrounding
Kubekrom no.2 include Zenu, Atadeka,
Ashaiman,Oyibi and Appolonia. Kubekrom no.2
14
is a semi-developed community with access to
basic social amenities such as water and
electricity. The community can also boast of
having basic infrastructure like schools,
Hospitals and Industries that produce drinking
water. Majority of working population are into
trading activities with just a few into white
collar jobs.

15
“Would you believe if I told you nearly
400 million tons of plastic waste is
16
produced by the world every year?”

There is an annual 9% increment in the

global production of plastic waste. This
means that, the amount of plastic waste
produced by our various communities is
continuously on the rise. Based on my
research about the problem of increased
plastic waste in KUBEKROM NO.2, the
following are some causes of the
problem:

CAUSES
• Unnecessary use of plastic
• Overuse of plastic
• Wrong places of disposing plastic
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• Nature

UNNECESSARY USE OF PLASTIC

Plastic is everywhere, even on those
items you may not expect them to be.
Milk cartons are lined with plastic and
some products may even contain tiny
plastic beads. We would always need the
help of plastic as usual but putting them
on almost every item is what becomes
the problem as it increases the plastic
waste content of our communities.
Plastic takes over 400 years to
decompose and although the
decomposition rate of plastic can vary
depending on the type, however, this
typically ranges from 50 to 600 years. As
a result, for such a long period of time

18
they get accumulated in our
communities and thereby releasing their
toxic compounds into the land, hence
degrading it. Instead of using plastic for
almost everything even if not necessary,
we could use some of these more
environmentally friendly materials like
paper.

OVERUSE OF PLASTIC

As plastic is less expensive, it is one of

the most widely available and overused
items. Since it is an affordable and
durable material, it is utilized in every
other way possible, from packaging

19
materials to plastic bottles and
containers, straw to plastic carry bags.
And because they are so cheap, we have
a disposal mentality. When disposed off
too, it does not decompose easily and
pollutes the land or air when burned in
the open.

WRONG PLACES OF DISPOSING PLASTIC

My research on my community has

clearly shown me one of the root causes
of the increased plastic waste in the
community. Inhabitants of Kubekrom
No.2 are no exception of the practice of

20
disposing plastic anywhere. The problem
can be clearly understood since there
are no bins for disposal at vantage points
of the community and so anywhere
could be a dumping site for plastic
waste.

21
NATURE

22
With regards to the problem of
increased plastic waste in the
Community, nature also is a causing
factor but it only becomes a causing
factor when the above causes are
already existing. Because there are no
disposing units around, plastic that find
their way into the environment are
ultimately being carried away by wind
across everywhere and there the
problem proceeds. The natural
phenomenon of wind stop been a cause
if we are able to arrest the initial causes
of the problem.

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 EFFECTS OF THE PROBLEM

• Environmental pollution
• Health threats
• Blocking of drains

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Plastic waste left on our environment

exposes the environment to pollution. As
plastic is made from hazardous chemical
families like heavy metals, flame

24
retardants, phthalates, bisphenols, and
fluorinated compounds, all such
chemicals are released into the land
thereby rendering it polluted. Evidently,
the sustainability of the quality of land to
future generations become absolutely
uncertain.

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HEALTH THREATS

Our health is affected directly or

indirectly by the plastic waste that exists
in our environment. When in the soil,
our soil gets polluted and so crops are
grown in contaminated soil and when
burnt too, toxic chemicals are released
into the air which then contaminates the
air and this exposes us to diseases such
as cancer, cardiovascular disease and
respiratory diseases like asthma.

26
BLOCKING OF DRAINS

Plastic waste in Kubekrom No. 2 has

increased to the very point of blocking
passage way of water. Most parts of the
community suffers flood whenever there
is a heavy down pour. Because of the
already existing plastic such as
polythene, bottles, sachets, wrappers,
and plastic containers on our roads and
some being carried by wind into our

27
gutters. It has been an issue of the
inhabitants of the community which they
have raised voices to very loudly.

ABOUT MY PROGRAMME OF STUDY

• INDUSTRIAL ENGINNEERING
Industrial Engineering is a branch of
engineering management concerned
with how to make or do things better,
crossing a range of disciplines associated
with manufacturing industrial or
consumer products. In other words, it
involves the optimization of complex
processes and systems. It looks at ways
of reducing waste and rather maximizing
productivity in engineering setups
(firms). Industrial Engineering is a broad

28
field of study and has many sub
disciplines. Some are:

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
This is an inter disciplinary field of
enginnering and enginnering
management that fouses on how to
design, integrate and manage complex
systems over their life cycles. As its core,
systems engineering utilizes systems
thinking principles to organize this body
of knowledge.

29
QUALITY ENGINEERING
This is the discipline of engineering that
concerns itself with the principles and
practice of product and service quality
assurance and control. Quality Engineers
focus on optimizing product quality
which W. EDWARDS DEMING defined as

Quality = results of work efforts/ total

costs

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

It includes planning and operation of

energy production and energy
consumption units as well as energy
distribution and storage. It is a

30
systematic endeavor to optimize energy
efficiency for specific political, economic,
and environmental objectives through
Engineering and Management
techniques.

SAFETY ENGINEERING
This is an engineering principle which
assures that engineered systems provide
acceptable levels of safety. It is strongly
related to industrial engineering/systems
engineering, and the subset system
safety engineering. Safety Engineering

31
assures that a life-critical system behaves
as needed, even when components fail.

WHY MANAGE THE INCREASED

PLASTIC WASTE OF KUBEKROM NO. 2
 Preserve the quality of our
environment. This means that we
would breathe clean air and grow crops
in clean soil.
 Ensure good health of inhabitants
 Eschew flood.

SOLUTION
In this report, there are
three different
32
concepts/solutions
mentioned to the
problem of “increased
plastic waste in
KUBEKROM NO. 2”. At the
end of the report, one of
them will be selected
over the others based on
the criteria of concept
evaluation.

33
CONCEPT ONE: PROVISION OF
DISPOSING UNITS AT VANTAGE POINTS.
The main reason why
people leave plastic waste
on the streets and the
environment is because
there are no bins for
disposal around them. To
solve the problem, a
committee should be
formed to mobilize fund
from the inhabitants to
34
purchase these bins for
plastic waste. Again, the
committee would have to
be responsible of
supervising the disposal
of the waste to the
nearest landfill as this is
this the commonest and
cheap way of dealing with
waste in Ghana.

35
36
37
ADVANTAGES OF CONCEPT ONE

• It is easier and simple

38
• It is effective
• A faster means of solving the problem

DISADVANTAGES

• Expensive cost in transporting waste to

land fills

• CONCEPT TWO:

39
RECYCLING WHAT IS
RECYCLABLE

This concept looks at

recycling plastic into
useful products. It
requires the help of a
recycling machine to
achieve this goal. With
this concept, all the
plastic waste bins of the
community will rather not
40
be sent to landfills to be
buried, but will be sent to
the recycling machine for
recycling. A committee
would have to be set up
to raise funds from the
people to undertake the
project. A location would
have to be chosen, which
could be in the middle of
the community, where
the recycling machine
41
would be installed. Plastic
waste bins from every
part of the community
would be sent there for
sorting out of recyclable
portions to produce
products like slippers,
shoes, chairs, bowls, etc
The products could be
sold hence, job/ business
opportunities are created

42
for the youth of the
community.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

43
ADVANTAGES OF CONCEPT TWO
44
• Reliable
• More effective
• Lucrative

DISADVANTAGES
• High cost of affording a recycling
machine
• Not all plastic are recyclable.

CONCEPT THREE:
RE- PURPOSING OF PLASTIC

Repurposing of plastic implies realizing

the other potential uses of plastic other
than the intended one. So, the borders
of their uses could be broken and

45
extended to serve other purposes as
well. To be able to achieve this project of
re-purposing of the plastic waste of
KUBEKROM NO.2, a committee must be
formulated to first mobilize some funds
from community members to provide
bins for collecting plastic waste at
vantage points of the community. The
committee would then be responsible
for going for all these bins with disposed
plastic such as bottles, polythene,
wrappers and pure water sachets. The
committee would be charged with the
task of re-purposing them into useable
and sellable products. Based on my
research about this, plastic bottles could
be gathered and re-purposed to thrash
bins and also used on farms as water

46
sprinklers when connected to water
systems(tap).
Another research revealed how
polythene, wrappers and pure water
sachets could be made into plastic
threads(strands) which could be woven
traditionally into market bags, etc. The
re-purposed plastic products could be
sold out to generate income.

47
48
ADVANTAGES OF CONCEPT THREE

• Cheaper
• Effective

49
• Reliable
• Creates job opportunities (i.e very
lucrative)

DISADVANTAGES

• Plastic is still produced

RESULT FROM EVALUATION

From the evaluation table, concept 3 is

cheaper to undertake, more reliable,
effective and lucrative as compared to

50
concepts 1 and 2. As such, the chosen
solution to the problem of “increased
plastic waste in KUBEKROM NO. 2” is
concept 3 and it was chosen on the basis
of cost, reliability, effectiveness and how
lucrative it could be.

CONCLUSION
The problem of increased plastic waste is
no new problem of which our
community is first to face. And it’s as a
result of the indispensability of plastic in
our world today. However, re-purposing
our plastic waste will rather put them

51
into the state of becoming useful to us
again through relatively cheaper means.

RECOMMENDATION
All community members should
dispose plastic waste into bins at
various vantage points. We must
ourselves exhibit good environmental
ethics by making use of bins at vantage
points to gently dispose our unneeded
plastic. Community members should
avail themselves to forming
committees that would embark on the
project and together, the increased
plastic waste in the community would
successfully be managed.

52
REFERENCES
Google maps

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/257127459967546449/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/13370130135873539/

https://cleanstreets.westminster.gov.uk/plastic-waste-complete-guide/#6

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/668714244684119030/

https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/what-is-industrial-
engineering

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-plastic-
pollution.php

https://images.app.goo.gl/s8Wd728TTyPk5uP

53
 • APPENDIX

Sample Questionnaire

54
A SURVEY ON THE PROBLEM OF
INCREASED PLASTIC WASTE IN
KUBEKROM NO.2
Thank you for taking the time to answer
these questions. The following questions
are jeered towards finding how
increased plastic waste is an issue of
concern.

• How long have you lived in

KUBEKROM NO.2?
 1-12 months
 1-2 years
 above 2 years

• Gender
 male

55
 Female

 Is flood really prevalent

 Yes
 No

 What form of waste is produced in

high quantity
 Plastic
 Liquid waste
 Others

 Are waste bins available for plastic

disposal
 Yes
 No

56
 Is the problem of plastic waste an
urgent problem in the community
 Yes
 No

INTRODUCTION LETTER

57
58