Among the products presented were solar ovens made with plastic
The Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Ghana Office in partnership with the Education Unit of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has organized the 2026 edition of the National STEM Plastic Waste Management Competition to create a platform for the students in Catholic Senior High Schools in Ghana to develop innovative projects to tackle the plastic waste menace.
This competition seeks to empower Senior High School students to move beyond theoretical science and develop practical and community-relevant solutions to these challenges.
Speaking at the event, the Programs Manager of KAS Ghana, Lawrencia Akosua Pomaa, observed that the fourth edition of the STEM competition is to create awareness about the benefits of proper plastic waste management to the younger generation
"We want to educate the younger generation on managing plastic waste well. We want them to learn about recycling plastic waste in a creative and innovative way.
China is benefiting massively from proper plastic waste management and our younger generation can learn from it.
We equally want the young people to learn the value of making money too. The ideas they create have entrepreneurial benefits," she added.
The St. Ignatius of Loyola Senior High School in the Upper West Region was adjudged the best performing school at the Northern sector STEM Plastic Waste Competition.
Our Lady of Lourdes Girls' Senior High School on the other hand emerged second at a competitive contest in Damango in the Savannah Region, where the students pitched innovative products made from plastic waste and ideas to address the challenges posed by plastic waste.
The other competing schools were St.Cyprian Minor Seminary Senior High School, St Mary Technical & Vocational Senior High School and St. Bernadette’s Technical Institute.
Among the products presented were solar ovens made with plastic, plastic shredder and melter, fancy raincoat, furniture made from plastic and other materials for interior and exterior decoration.
Francis Batadjon, the General Manager of Catholic Schools, Ghana, highlighted the aim of the contest and its impact on the students
"The aim of the contest is to engage our learners in a battle of ideas by asking them to appreciate the dangers that indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste materials pose to our environment and then, make practicable proposals through the presentation of projects on how best to deal with the plastic waste menace in our environment.
As an Education Unit, we are again excited because the challenge by its nature calls for the use of STEM-based knowledge and skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, innovation, communication and collaboration which are all core competencies under the common core curriculum of our education system," he added
The three winning positions received money worth GHS 10,000, materials such as dustbins and calculators from Adminex Academy. Certificates were also presented to the participating schools.
Plastic waste management is a major challenge in Ghana. Plastics are indiscriminately disposed into
drains and water bodies, resulting in perennial floods across the country.
As such, it's believed that such initiatives of the plastic waste management competition would help in combatting menace.
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