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CODA commissions new Plastic bottle collection centre

The Government, through the Coastal Development Authority (CODA), has inaugurated a plastic bottle collection centre at the Nungua beach in the Krowor municipality.

Date Created : 5/27/2022 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Alice Abubakari/Ghanadistricts.com

The collection centre, the first of its kind, was funded by BizGPS, CFAO Ghana PLC and SESA and is aimed at promoting plastic recycling in the fishing communities, and also avoids the disposal of waste into the ocean, gutters, and other landfill sites.

Speaking at a colourful commissioning ceremony, Mr Ahmed Shaib explained that, solid waste management had become a major public policy hurdle not only in Ghana, but across the globe.

He lamented the spectre of coastal communities being littered with debris and filth of all sort, including empty water sachets/bottles, polythene bags, disposal cups, coconut husks and sandals, which are either dumped into the drains that discharge into the sea or dumped directly onto our beaches.

He pointed out that this is due to inadequate waste management infrastructure and low patronage of the infrastructure available, among others.

He was worried about the consequence of poor sanitation reflected in vulnerability to sanitation-related diseases such as malaria, typhoid and cholera.

He said, at the same time that “we have had to live with the consequences of poor waste disposal, there have been attempts in the past to deal with the improper solid waste disposal menace along beaches”.

The Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Moses Anim, said the national action for the roadmap posits that, by 2014, Ghana should have zero plastic waste entrance into our ocean by 2040.

He therefore hoped the gesture would go a long way in creating jobs and mobilising revenue for national development.

The Managing Director of CFAO Ghana PLC, Paulo Fernandes, explained that the target for the collection centre is to increase plastic recycling in the fishing communities and avoid the disposal into the ocean and drainage systems.

According to him, plastics will be collected through storage containers displayed in the neighbourhood with people being encouraged to collect the offending plastics through a reward-for- recycling scheme.

It is estimated that the key groups within the communities, including fishermen, households, sanitation workers, market women, churches, mosques, schools, hospitals, etc will be impacted immensely by this scheme.

He said he is happy to see the implementation of these wastewater centres and looks forward to more such partnerships that will impact plastic waste management in Ghana.

In attendance at the ceremony were CODA CEO, Jerry Ahmed Shaib; the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Moses Anim; the Krowor Municipal Chief Executive, Joshua Nii Bortey; the Managing Director of CFAO Ghana PLC, Paulo Fernandes; Executive Chairman of BizGPS Limited, Solomon O. Okoro, and the team of SESA Recycling Limited.