Plastic industries to help AMA clear filth in the city

Accra, April 14, GNA - The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Wednesday called on industries and importers of plastic products to financially support the Assembly in its efforts to clear the city of filth generated by their products.

Mr. Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, AMA Chief Executive said if the industries refused to contribute their quota, which must be as soon as possible, an order could be made to stop the sale of plastics entirely in the city.

"If we have to exert force we must do it because Accra needs to be cleared of the filth that has overwhelmed the city else we would all find ourselves on hospital beds,'' he added.

The industries present at the meeting included Ecoplast and Decorplast, Pipes and Plastic, Fanmilk and Letap Packaging Company. Mr. Adjiri Blankson said even though most of the filth was generated by sachet water producers and sellers, the producers bought the plastics from the industries, hence there was the need to start the campaign from the source to be passed on to the sachet water producers. He said the large scale plastic industries have agreed to contribute three million cedis a month, the middle scale two million cedis and the small scale one million cedis a month towards cleaning of the filth, adding, however, that the amount was too small to make any impact.

The Chief Executive said the AMA could not levy the industries but the industries must ensure that the appropriate amount was paid to the Assembly as soon as possible.

He said plans were underway to recycle the plastic and store it appropriately after it had been collected.

He said Ghanaians have developed the habit of throwing filth on the streets over the years, adding that it would take some time to educate the public to stop that behaviour.

Mr. Adjiri Blankson said there would be another clean-up on Saturday, April 17, 2004 and urged the public to participate fully. Mr. William Tettey from the Poly Group of Companies said the Association of Plastic Manufacturers and the National Association of Sachet Water Producers (NASWAP) had agreed to pay an amount of money to collect the plastic waste in the system to complement the efforts of AMA.

Mr. Justice Yeboah from Ecoplast pledged that apart from their financial contributions, the company would also provide plastic containers to be placed at the lorry stations to collect the waste. He said the company had a recycling plant, adding that it was time the other industries installed one to recycle their waste products.