Accra, Ghana//-The Mohinani Group, the largest packaging manufacturer has launched its Fifth Annual Waste Management and Recycling Competition across 37 schools in the Greater Accra Region.
The competition is a partnership between the Ghana Education Service, Accra Metro District and Environment360 and seeks to support environmental education in basic and Junior High Schools (JHS) and rewards schools for their collection of recyclable materials.
This year’s competition covers over 18,000 students and runs in two phases. The basic schools competition took place from the 21st of June to August 6th while the Junior High School competition commenced from18th of July to 30th of August 2021.
The Executive Director of the Mohinani Group, Mr. Ashok Mohinani, was enthusiastic to embark upon the competition for the fifth time in the series and said it was an important part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy and legacy of the Group.
“We are very happy to be committed to creating jobs for the citizens to be self-sustaining and self-sufficient through this sustainable initiative and give back to the communities in which we operate” Mr. Mohinani said.
“The Mohinani Recycling and Proper Waste Management Campaign has over the past 5 years supported the United Nations Sustainability Goal of helping communities adapt to sustainable habits on climate change and climate adaptation which sought to inspire the future generation through practical skills training and education on business opportunities from recycling and proper waste management practices” he emphasized.
The Founder and Executive Director of Environment360, Mrs. Cordie Aziz- Nash, said she has observed changes and renewed values in many of the students that benefited from the program since its inception.
“Environment360 had the privilege of implementing this program in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) for the past five years. In an interview after the competition students recalled the various categories of waste, as well as discuss and deliberate on the importance of recycling in their communities,” Mrs. Aziz-Nash said.
The Coordinator for the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) for the Greater Accra Metro District, Mrs. Phillipina Tuffour, said the competition was very beneficial for students as well as schools.
“We have experienced tremendous change in the habits of pupils across the various participating schools as students are enthusiastic about the program and have always sought to come up with creative and innovative ideas of reducing, reusing and recycling waste,” she said.
“This year’s project also saw the introduction of a novel biodegradable cardboard recycling boxes. The use of this low-cost material will make it easier and also ensure that participating schools have adequate collection containers for their recyclables,” she added.
The 2020 edition of the competition yielded more than 12 tons of recyclable materials collected by beneficiaries and were mainly plastic waste which without this competition could have ended up as litters in communities and waterways.
The Top school for this year’s competition will receive a cash prize while the best class will be rewarded with a KFC party.
By Ben Laryea, African Eye Report
