Minister caution Ghanaians on improper disposal of plastic wastes

By Bisola Adeyemo

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovations (MESTI), Dr. Kwaku Afriyie has cautioned Ghanaians on the inappropriate disposal of plastic waste, which he said was a major cause of flooding in the country.

The minister stated this during an exclusive interview with the Ghanaian Times on Friday, adding that Plastic waste was one of the major environmental problems the country was battling with.

He lamented that plastic products such as empty water bottles and drinks continue to be a major cause of environmental pollution and flooding in Accra and other major cities across the country.

“This is not only a nuisance but also a public health hazard which continues to hurt livelihood.”

The further stressed that “ implementing the initiative would serve as an opportunity to integrate informal sector players, which could result in better waste handling and recycling technologies within the informal sector, in compliance with formal regulations and standards, and could potentially increase recycling rates and reduce environmental leakages, hence, contribute to a cleaner environment.”

Speaking on efforts to mitigate plastic waste in the county, Dr. Afryie disclosed that the government with support from some corporate organizations has distributed tricycles to collect and recycle plastic waste in the capital.

The ministry aims at increasing collection and recycling of plastic waste through policy interventions such as providing incentives to producers to incorporate environmental considerations in the product design to minimise waste generation that obligate producers to assume the economic burden of managing the potential adverse environmental impacts of their products through collection, recycling or final disposal of waste associated with the product,” he said.