Waste segregation is the key to environmental success – Adjei Sowah

Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, has called for the intensification of public education in waste segregation to help protect the environment.

He said continuous awareness creation of proper waste segregation, especially among children, is a positive way to ensure sustainable adherence to environmental sanitation.

Mr Sowah said this during a presentation of 268 waste bins to basic schools in the Osu Klottey Korle District.

The effort was aimed at pushing an agenda for proper sanitation among school children by practicing waste segregation.

He said the effort was in collaboration with Jekora Ventures Limited, a waste service provider in the Klottey Korle District, to help reduce the quantum of wastes that go to the landfills and also make waste a resource.

Mr Sowah said the environmental protection vision required a change in action plans, city cleansing approach, enforcement mechanisms and attitudinal mindset change.

He said the city of Accra must look clean and attractive at all times to give residents and visitors a sense of pride, adding that “beautiful cities attract talents, investments and economic activities and increased the cities’ unique contributions to national development.”

“Some of the pressing challenges faced by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in waste management are inadequate final disposal options, illegal dumpsites and most crucially the attitude of the people which needs change,” he said.

The MCE expressed regret that out of daily generation of 2,385 tonnes of waste in the metropolis only 1,665 tonnes was collected through door-to-door and communal systems.

He said children are the future leaders and any major social behaviour modifications should start with them as they are the requisite ambassadors of the effort.

He called on the teachers to shape the behaviours of the future generation who have the major role to play in the effort at making the metropolis clean.

Mr Immanuel Nortey-Tokoli, the Managing Director of Jekora Ventures, said the company would continue to do its best to ensure a clean environment and reminded the children on the need to properly dispose of their waste.

Miss Cindy Badoe, the Deputy Director of Bailty Environment of the Environmental Protection Agency, said plans are far advanced for more collaboration with the AMA.

Miss Georgina Rabbles, the Circuit Supervisor of the Osu Doku Ghana Education Service, who received the items, promised that they would abide by the rules surrounding the process of segregation.