Environment Minister is against ban on plastics in Ghana

The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has kicked against calls for ban on plastics in the country, stating it is not yet time.

Rather, he suggested that those who want to stop using it should try it in their homes first, and then tell Ghanaians how they did it.

In a Christmas message to Media General the minister disclosed that a plastic implementation policy will soon be put before cabinet to roll out how plastics will be managed in Ghana.

“We don’t consider plastic as waste but a resource that can be utilized to generate employment” the minister said.

Professor Frimpong-Boateng said although other countries in East Africa have successfully ban plastic, it is not time for Ghana to do same owing to the resultant smuggling the ban.

Meanwhile, he said Ghana will from next year earn some 100 million dollars a year when the e-waste programme which began in November this year becomes operationalized.

He encouraged Ghanaians, especially those who have medical conditions, to eat in moderation and keep the environment in mind during the Christmas season.