Accra, Ghana//-MTN Ghana has launched a comprehensive plastic waste recycling campaign to rid the country off plastic materials as part of its Global Appreciation Work.
The first phase of the campaign labelled bins would be positioned at the MTN head office in Accra and its Osu offices also in Accra to collect the plastics, other locations within the regions such as Nhyiaeso, Kejetia, Takoradi Main, Market Circle, Koforidua, and the Wa Service Centres will follow suit, the Senior Manager, Sustainability, and Social Impact at MTN Ghana Foundation, Robert Kuzoe, explained at the launch in Accra.
“We are confident that this initiative will help deepen gains made already by our activities over the years and move us closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 11), which speaks to sustainable cities and communities requiring us to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable”.
MTN Ghana which has an eco-responsibility as a key strategic pillar on its Environmental Social and Governance Key Performance Indicator (KPI) index, is taking the laudable initiative in partnership with Jekora Ventures, a leading waste management company. The bins would be picked by the waste management company when they are full.
Mr Kuzoe entreated all who share in the vision of building a sustainable future to actively support this campaign as they transform their communities.
Why the campaign?
The current campaign as part of the telecom company’s Global Appreciation Week is an extension of its existing recycling initiative. “With respect to this campaign, our launch today seeks to extend education and the benefits of recycling to our communities.
Our community recycling bins will be placed at selected MTN service centres across the country. By reducing waste, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and saving energy at home, at work, and on the road we save the environment and our continent.”
Recycling a tonne of plastic saves energy equal to 5.774 kilowatt hour (kWh. That’s the equivalent to the amount of energy consumed by two people for a year. It’s estimated up to 40 percent of oil consumption could be reduced through recycling plastic waste, according to him.
Ghana’s 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are struggling to contain tonnes of waste they generate daily in the West African country.
This is due to the fact that Ghana’s burgeoning population is producing far more waste than its obsolete and limited infrastructure can contain.
Ghana’s sprawling cities namely Accra, Tema, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tamale disgorge more than 7,000 metric tonnes of waste a day.
Accra, the nation’s capital and its host region-the Greater Accra with a population of about four million generates about 2,200 tonnes of solid waste every day, and out of this only 1800 tonnes are collected daily, leaving a deficit of 400 tonnes uncollected.
According to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) solid waste generated in Accra alone comprises 65% organic, 3% paper, 3.5% plastic, 3.6% glass, 2.5% metal, 1.7% textile, 17.1% of inert metals and 1.2% being residue of other waste materials.
All these waste are expected to be cleared by the overburdened AMA but they end up collecting a fraction which creates health hazards for the inhabitants, and tourists.
In spite of these, only 10% of the plastic waste ever gets recycled in Ghana. The Ghanaian government has threatened to ban certain kinds of plastic materials similar to Rwanda and Kenya but it was worried about the potential job losses.
Speaking at the launch, the Administrative Manager of Jekora Ventures Limited, Felix Laryea said since 2012, the company diverted its waste from the landfills because of the challenges in getting land to dispose of the tonnes of waste collected.
He noted that 60% of Ghana’s waste is organic, while 17% is plastic and the rest is paper and liquid. So, the company is using three composite facilities in Bortiano, Yilo Krobo and one in the Volta Region to fight the sanitation menace.
Mr Laryea was quick to add that since 2017, the company has been collecting waste from MTN Ghana’s head office. “We have collected 15 metric tonnes of plastic waste from the head office, while the quotum of paper waste collected is less”.
Background
MTN Ghana started source separation of its waste at the MTN house from February 2017. Till date the company continues to separate waste in three streams namely plastics, card boards, and organic waste.
Its partner vendor Jekora Ventures Limited collects these separated waste and recycles them into a number of household items. Additionally, through the company’s annual 21 days of Yello Care program, it has undertaken several initiatives such as collection of plastic bottles, and waste from the beeches for recycling, as well as using them for paving streets.
