COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD WASTE IN THE CITIES OF STUTTGART AND KUMASI – OPTIONS FOR WASTE RECYCLING AND TREATMENT IN KUMASI E. KETIBUAH 1 , M. ASASE 2 , S. YUSIF 2 , M. Y. MENSAH 2 , K. FISCHER 3 1 WASTE, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 23, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany. E-mail address: suamehwe@hotmail.com 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. 3 Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste management, Universität Stuttgart, Bandtäle 2 70569 Stuttgart, Germany ABSTRACT The composition of household waste from two cities (Stuttgart and Kumasi) in a developed and a developing country are compared, the methods of treatment of household waste in Stuttgart are discussed and options for household waste treatment in Kumasi are considered. For household waste treatment to be efficient in Kumasi, separate collection at source, as is practised in Stuttgart, must be considered first. This would enhance the chances of recycling of waste fractions such as Paper/Cardboard, and Rubber/Plastics. Household waste from Kumasi was found to contain a larger portion of Organic waste than that from Stuttgart, making composting a good option for waste treatment in Kumasi since incineration would be expensive. The other components Metal, Wood, Fabric and Glass which constitute only about 5% could be land filled. Key words: household waste, recycling, waste fractions, BACKGROUND In cities in developing countries, rapid population growth coupled with lack of infrastructure for adequate solid waste treatment and indiscriminate disposal of waste, results in accumulation of waste in large quantities, the repercussions of which are