Our Recycling Plant in Ashaiman, Ghana
In 2017, after 7 years of pioneering and perseverance, Safisana opened its first recycling plant in Accra (Ghana) located in Ashaiman, a densely populated settlement in the Greater Accra Area of over 250,000 inhabitants - 90 per cent of whom lives below the poverty line. Commissioned by the local Municipality of Ashaiman, the Ghanaian Ministeries of Energy and Agriculture, and financed by the AfDB, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and private funds, the Safisana plant was the first waste to resource facility in West Africa. With the circular economy being firmly still in the theoretic phase, we invested in our relationships with the critical partners, and we learnt what was needed to achieve a truly local approach. Today the recycling plant located in Ashaiman has grown into an economically stable, locally managed company – run by a team of 28 highly skilled local specialists. A blueprint for replication.
A growing impact on 147,000+ people
To date the recycling plant has improved the lives of thousands of people living and working in Ashaiman, generating social, economic, and environmental benefits for the local community as a whole. Improved sanitation services and waste collection have led to a cleaner and healthier living and working environment. As opposed to waste dumping, treatment of solid and liquid waste and using it as a resource for the production of clean energy reduces carbon emission and environmental polution of air, water and soil. Also, the production and use or organic fertiliser promotes local food production and leads to an increase of yields. In addition, the plant has generated direct employment for local staff as well as for related local businesses such as energy companies, waste collecting companies, toilet operators, and local farmers.
Get involved: become a Safisana supplier!
Safisana is looking for new suppliers of industrial organic waste. We need more organic waste to help communities live in better conditions. As a large food processing industry, you can help! The more waste we recycle, the more people we can serve with a cleaner and healthier environment. We are looking for food processing industries that want to start recycling their waste, reduce their carbon footprint and make a health impact on the community. Want to start recycling and create a social economic and environmental impact on the community? Read more or fill out the contact form here.
Meet the people of Ashaiman
Miss Agyeiwaa, Food Vendor at
local Ashaiman Food Market
'Our work environment is cleaner now. We save money instead of paying to the informal waste collectors. This is because Safisana doesn’t charge us for collecting the waste. Their frequent collection is helping to save us from bad odour and some disturbance from rodents we used to experience in the past'
Watch the video about the renovated Ashaiman Market!
Mr. Kwaku Yahaya
Toilet Operator
'I love Safisana. Our faecal matter is recycled into useful products like electricity and biofertilizer. Safisana educates us on how to manage our toilets through hygiene training and on top of it now upgraded my toilet for the second time to a standard that is attracting more customers'
Local farmer Kelly Ampofo from Unique Vegetable Farms Limited
'Ever since I started using Safisana’s Asase Gyefo compost three years ago, I get better yields from my crops in my greenhouse than before'
Kwabena Ampadu Otu - Danquah
Former Director of Renewable Energy
at the Energy Commission
'Proper waste treatment supports climate change response, waste management, and sustainable development simultaneously. We appreciate Safiana’s close-loop, circular economy approach and we would continue to work together to expand the model in other parts of Ghana'
Expanding local solutions
Ghana, Kumasi
Project Partners: Clean Team Toilets
Opportunity: Project development and market pre-feasibility on an integrated approach for toilet services (Clean Team) and full waste recycling (Safisana) in Kumasi. Pre-feasibility phase – full project plan by 2023
Uganda, Kampala
Project Partners: National Water and Sewerage Corporation, WaterWorx/Vitens Evides
Status: Pre-feasibility market study completed for the building of a Safisana recycling plant in addition to an existing waste water treatment plant. Preparing for feasibility – full project plan by end 2023
Our institutional partners
Contact us
Safisana Holding,
Weesp, The Netherlands
+31 (0) 294 773857
info@safisana.org
