Open burning remains illegal, offenders risk fines and jail terms

… as ESS26 kicks off today

By Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has reiterated that open burning of waste remains illegal across the country and warned that offenders risk fines, prosecution and possible custodial sentences under existing environmental and sanitation laws.

The authority says the regulatory framework is already well established, with enforcement powers vested in environmental health officers attached to district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies.

Hope Smith Lomotey, Director of Human Settlements at the EPA, said the problem is not the absence of law. He noted, however, that effective enforcement depends in part on public reporting, which remains inconsistent.

“Citizens are not supposed to burn their waste. They can be prosecuted by environmental health officers who have been given that power. The by-laws of the various assemblies give you the power to prosecute anybody for burning openly,” he told the B&FT.

Open burning remains a persistent feature in many communities across Ghana, including urban areas in Accra and Kumasi, despite longstanding prohibitions under national and local legislation.

Legal penalties and enforcement framework

Under the Fines (Penalty Units) Act, 2000 (Act 572), one penalty unit is currently valued at GH¢12, forming the basis for all fines applied under environmental and sanitation offences.

This means the 100 to 150 penalty units prescribed under the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Bye-laws translate into fines of approximately GH¢1,200 to GH¢1,800 for open burning offences.

The AMA Sanitation Bye-laws (2017), reinforced under the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), explicitly prohibit the burning of solid waste in residential compounds and the indiscriminate dumping of waste in open spaces, drains, gutters and other unauthorised locations.

“A person commits an offence if that person indiscriminately dumps solid and liquid waste in open spaces, drains, gutters, behind walls, or burns solid waste in one’s compound,” the AMA’s document states.

In practice, enforcement can be significantly more stringent. Environmental health courts in metropolitan areas have historically imposed combined sanctions that may include fines of up to GH¢10,000, or custodial sentences ranging from three to six months with hard labour for repeat or aggravated offences, particularly where public nuisance or health risks are established.

Mr. Lomotey said the penalties are sufficiently deterrent when properly enforced.

“For somebody to go for three months or even three to six months, I think it is something deterring. Even one day in prison can be a lot of punishment,” he said.

Beyond the AMA framework, national waste management is governed by the Local Government Act, Environmental Assessment Regulations, and the Environmental Sanitation Policy, which collectively prescribe sanitary landfill use, controlled disposal, composting, recycling and regulated incineration as lawful waste management options.

Residents urged to report violations

The EPA is encouraging residents to first engage neighbours involved in open burning before escalating complaints to environmental health units within district or metropolitan assemblies.

“You first of all need to go to that neighbour, draw his attention that you have observed that he has been burning waste, and let the person know the implication,” Mr. Lomotey said.

“The implication is not only for you. Everybody in that locality is affected. Even people three kilometres away can still be affected. Pollution knows no boundaries,” he added.

Where the practice persists, residents are advised to report to environmental health departments, which are empowered to investigate and initiate prosecution.

Health burden

While enforcement remains central to the EPA’s response, air pollution from open burning is also emerging as a major public health concern.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Clean Air Fund, air pollution is now the second leading risk factor for death and disability in Ghana, contributing to an estimated 28,000 premature deaths annually; a toll that exceeds the combined mortality burden of malaria and HIV in the country.

The burden is disproportionately concentrated in densely populated urban communities where waste collection services are inconsistent, and open burning is often used as a default disposal method.

Health experts say exposure is particularly severe among children under five and adults over 50, who are more vulnerable to respiratory and cardiovascular complications linked to polluted air.

Open burning, especially of plastics, releases fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, along with toxic compounds such as dioxins and furans associated with long-term cancer risks.

Economic cost of inaction

Beyond its human toll, air pollution imposes a significant economic burden on Ghana through healthcare expenditure, productivity losses and premature mortality.

Global environmental economic assessments suggest that air pollution reduces Gross Domestic Product (GDP) performance across African economies through lost labour productivity and increased pressure on public health systems.

For Ghana, targeted interventions could deliver substantial fiscal benefits. A Clean Air Fund assessment estimates that effective enforcement of clean air measures in Accra alone, particularly elimination of open burning and improved emissions control, could save approximately US$216 million (about GH¢3.2 billion) between 2023 and 2040.

That figure represents roughly 10 percent of the annual national health budget, evidence of the scale of potential fiscal gains from improved air quality management.

B&FT’s ESS solutions

The urgency of that message finds institutional expression in a major convening, as the B&FT hosts the Environmental Sustainability Summit (ESS) 2026 today, with top policymakers, financiers, academics and private sector leaders set to converge and interrogate Ghana’s climate and sustainability agenda under the theme: ‘Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future’.

The summit’s first plenary, ‘Financing Sustainability: Unlocking Green Investments and Climate Finance,’ will feature Priscilla Ashiam of Access Bank Ghana, Pearl Esua-Mensah of the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre, Dr. Michael Addaney of the University of Energy and Natural Resources, and Dr. Glenn Gyimah of Jospong Group’s Green Transition office.

A second plenary, ‘Green Innovation and Technology: Driving Sustainable Economic Growth’, will draw on the perspectives of Frank Adu Anim of the Chamber of ESG & Sustainability Ghana, Professor Michael Tuffour of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Ibrahim Adle Muhammad, and Dr. Gloria Boamah Kusi also of the Jospong Green Transition Office.

The connection to the county’s air quality crisis is not incidental. Open burning, uncontrolled waste disposal and the absence of green financing mechanisms are interlocking failures, with
each reinforcing the other.

ESS 2026 will examine how investment, innovation and regulatory reform can be aligned to address environmental challenges that the country’s existing frameworks have so far failed to contain.

For regulators, investors and communities grappling with the daily consequences of deteriorating air quality and other pressing climate-related challenges, the forum presents an opportunity to move the conversation beyond diagnosis towards the coordinated financing and enforcement framework that Ghana’s environmental challenges now demand.

Air quality monitoring expands

The EPA says it is strengthening its monitoring and data systems to support enforcement and public awareness.

Real-time air quality sensors have been deployed across Greater Accra, Ashanti, Volta and Northern Regions, tracking pollutants including PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Data is published regularly through EPA digital platforms.

Mr. Lomotey said the system now allows regulators to identify pollution hotspots more quickly.

“If consistently we are seeing air quality below the standard in a certain area, then we know something is going wrong there and we can investigate and act quickly,” he said.

Complementing the EPA’s network, independent urban monitoring initiatives such as ‘Breathe Accra’ have deployed more than 60 low-cost sensors across the capital to improve real-time visibility of air quality conditions and support district-level action planning.

According to global air quality benchmarks, annual PM2.5 concentrations in major Ghanaian cities have at times been recorded at levels up to 11 times higher than World Health Organisation guideline thresholds, proof of the scale of exposure risk.

Legislative and behavioural push

The EPA says it is working with local assemblies to strengthen bye-laws on sanitation offences while also reviewing national waste management regulations.

It is also advancing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies, which place greater accountability on manufacturers and importers for the lifecycle impact of packaging materials.

Mr. Lomotey cited the reduced visibility of some plastic sachet waste in parts of the country as an example of early progress under EPR enforcement.

He stressed, however, that enforcement alone is not sufficient without sustained public education.

“We do proactive education in schools, churches and communities. Prosecution is the last resort. If education is not working, then enforcement follows,” he explained.

Shared responsibility

The EPA says addressing open burning requires cooperation between regulators, assemblies and the public.

“Environmental protection is the responsibility of all of us. It affects public health, livelihoods, water security and the future of our communities,” Mr. Lomotey said.

He added that the issue carries long-term implications beyond the present generation, stating: “We have borrowed this environment from generations yet to come. They must come and see it.”

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