Associate Professor for Sustainable Development at the University of Northampton, Dr. Ebenezer Laryea, has revealed that the increasing use of raw plastic products has diverse consequences on agriculture and environmental sustainability in Ghana.
According to him, plastic materials are used as mulch to enhance moisture purposes for agriculture rather than create a distraction on farmlands and the environment at large.
Speaking at a one-day training workshop in Accra on Thursday, October 24, which brought together actors in the plastic production value chain and policymakers to deliberate on developing an alternative to plastics to save the environment, Dr. Ebenezer emphasized that there was a global crusade for a shift to green ecology where plastics use is to be reduced for alternate packaging sources for a sustained environment.
“Zoomlion, since its inception in 2024, has focused on developing innovative means to reduce plastic waste by developing youths on how to see plastic waste as a resource in making them into other recycled products,” he said.
A research team drawn from Fresh Produce Impact Hub (FRESHPPACK) in the United Kingdom, a research and development organization, aims at bringing together and developing actors in the value chain to adopt alternative sources of plastic packaging for enhanced environmental coexistence.
Study shows that about 840,000 tonnes of plastic waste is collected annually in Ghana, out of which a paltry 9.5% is recycled. This remaining volume of plastics usually blocks and clogs oceans and agricultural lands, causing environmental challenges.
The training workshop was in partnership with Zoomlion Foundation and Blue Skies to collaborate in leading environmentally friendly operations.
Coordinator for Zoomlion Foundation, Thomas Korley, in his interaction with the media, noted that his outfit’s focus has always been to let the Ghanaian population learn to see the value of plastics and its recycling efforts to sustain the environment.
He further said the foundation has been targeting especially the youths in educational institutions, ranging from primary to tertiary levels, as measures to conscientize them as future leaders to contribute to making the environment more sustainable.
He said since the beginning of this year, 2024, the Foundation’s focus has been on how to improve zero waste, which can be attainable with the improvement of the plastic waste collection system.
He said as part of their commitment to attaining zero waste, their engagement with students in schools was also to teach them how to make use of plastic for bags and related products.
The Head of Internal Audit on Environment, Health, and Safety with Blue Skies, Mary Aka, in her remark, revealed that as part of measures to reduce plastic waste, they normally encourage their patrons on fruit juice products to gather them after use, and the bottles collected are handed over to a recycling company.
