Claus Egger
The management of Ankobra Beach Resort has committed a 78,000 Ghana cedi investment package for waste management and Environmental Education this year.
The resort, over the years, had collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Municipal Education Directorate, to work on environmental cleanliness and sustainable behaviours.
Mr. Claus Egger, the Managing Director of the Ankobra Beach resort said plastics waste has many usefulness and when properly recycled could generate lots of income but dumping them into the see to choke fish stocks and depleting of the marine resources was worrying.
The lack of functional waste management systems like dustbins or trash removal have allowed communities to throw waste on streets and gutter which later finds its way into the sea.
He said plastics waste when carried into the ocean has a huge negative influence on the aquatic life especially on the fish stocks and livelihoods for a lot of people along the coastal areas.
“The bitter consequence due to this careless behaviour with regard to waste management had given birth to the waste management and environmental project initiated by the Resort to control the situation”.
Mr. Egger said, local health clubs, school children and communities such as Ankobra town, Gwira Banso, Dominase, Aziem, Ashiem and Kukuavile were on board to help create awareness on the need to protect water bodies, waste management and increase the fish stock.
The project could be replicated in other regions where waste management was a fundamental problem.
At one of the clean-up exercises covering about 60 kilometres on the shores of Axim, the Manager said waste particularly plastics could be used in different ways such as shopping bags, sandals whilst other waste like food left overs could be used as fertilizers and energy.
The school children worked tirelessly in collecting bags of plastics along the stretch of the Axim Seashore after which the head of Waste Management at Ankrobra, took them through the need to maintain a cleaner environment to promote healthy living.
The 78,000-annual budget for waste management would cover patrol for the conservation of sea turtle, equipment for clean-up, water filter, containers for hand washing, seeds for school farms, prices for school’s competition and tools for school garden among others.
