Seminar advocates policy on plastic waste management

Accra, July 6, GNA-A day's Advocacy Seminar on Plastic Waste Management has been held in Accra, with a call on government to come out with an appropriate policy to address plastic waste problems in the country. Mr Paul Oduro Frimpong, Executive Director of the Society for Managing Initiatives and Leadership Enhancement (SMILE) Ghana, who made the call on Saturday, further urged government to have broader consultations with stakeholders in the plastic industry, to ensure a sustainable environment.

The Seminar was jointly organized by SMILE and the National Association of Sachet Water Producers (NASWAP), and sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC). Drawing participants from environmental regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), the Seminar, with "Towards a National Plastic Waste Management Policy" as its theme, deliberated on Policy Goals and Approaches of Waste Management in the country.

Mr. Frimpong commended the various regulatory agencies for measures adopted in recent times, to help address problems related to plastic waste in the country, but urged them to prioritize environmental issues, and put in place mechanisms that would bring together different viewpoints for effective policy formulation and implementation. He pledged that SMILE was determined to "provide adequate guidance and technical support to NASWAP to engage stakeholders in pursuing an all inclusive policy to regulate the industry in a manner that will safeguard the environment."

Mr. Kwame Agyapon-Ntra, Public Relations Officer of NASWAP, pointed out that members of the general public, could not be exonerated or exempted from the plastic waste menace facing the nation, and was of the view, therefore, that the first step to tackle the problem, was to educate the general public on how to handle plastic waste in the system. Mr. Agyapon-Ntra suggested to the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to ensure that all producers of plastic materials were drawn into the tax net, otherwise the implementation of any law would not be effective.

Mr. Anthony Selormey of the NBSSI, reminded Ghanaians on the need to get actively involved in the proper handling of waste. "We all have a part to play in improving waste, and to live in clean environments," he emphasized.

Mrs. Cecilia Otoo, Retired Health Provider and Social Advocate for the Environment, pointed out that having advanced into the 21st century with plastic materials, Ghanaians needed to learn to collect and re-cycle waste for the maximum benefit of the nation. Mr. Musah Ibrahim, SMILE's Director of Policy, Programmes and Planning called for attitudinal change towards the management of plastic materials, and said that was one of the surest ways to address plastic waste in the system. 06 July 08