Efforts to recycle plastic waste in the country have intensified, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between eight leading manufacturers.
The companies which include Coca-Cola, Dow Chemicals, PZ Cussons, Voltic Ghana Limited, Unilever, Nestle Ghana, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited and FanMilk Limited are aiming to among other things, promote investments and harmonize waste reprocessing.
Adopting the term, Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprises (GRIPE), the idea is expected to take off next month.
Its objectives include to raise awareness and galvanize efforts of member companies in the fast moving goods group to spearhead initiatives to manage plastic waste in a more sustainable manner, towards making Ghana the neatest country in Africa by 2020.
In an interview with Citi Business News, a lead coordinator of GRIPE and a representative of Voltic Ghana Joyce Ahiadorme, explained the objective of the companies,
“As individual companies, we all have our own environmental programmes that we run, however, we know that if we come together, we will be able to manage the waste better. So we are pooling our resources together”.
“Our main objectives are centered on research, public advocacy, multi-stakeholder engagement and second life implementation – turning plastic waste into something valuable”, she said.
Asked when the initiative will be implemented, Mrs. Ahiadorme said was it will take off next month, with the piloting of the second life solution where plastic waste will be used with concrete for building purposes, especially public toilets.
To enable it to achieve its objectives, GRIPE will also be working with existing waste management and recycling firms, like ZoomLion, whom it seeks to draw lessons from.
Ralph Ayitey, National Executive Committee member of the Association of Ghanaian Industries (AGI), was upbeat that GRIPE, together with the recently launched National Sanitation campaign by the government, will find sustainable ways to manage the several tonnes of plastics generated on a daily basis.
Currently, about 10 percent of plastic waste is recycled, while the rest finds its way into water bodies, thereby causing environmental and health challenges. GRIPE hopes to increase the percentage of recycled plastic by some large volumes by end of 2020.
–
By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
