Govt to Launch Plastic Waste Management Initiative On October 1, 2019

By Ishmael Batoma And Salomey Laryea

Government is to launch a plastic management policy on October 1, 2019, to effectively manage plastics in the country.

The policy will have three components; Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), a National Plastic Management Policy and a Digital Waste Platform.

This was announced by the Special Advisor to the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr Oliver Boachie at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday.

He indicated that the issue of plastic waste has become a global issue and the World Economic Forum (WEF) came up with GPAP to create a strategy that would avert plastic pollution from source to sea by 2025, by fast-tracking circular economy solution and catalysing concerted solutions.

Mr Boachie disclosed that Ghana was the second country to pilot the GPAP initiative after Indonesia, noting that the country was chosen because of its strong commitment to fighting the plastic waste problem.

National Plastic Management Policy (NPMP), he said, aims to use comprehensive management of plastics across their life-cycle and value-chain as a vehicle for sustainable development, enabling a shift towards a plastic circular economy.

Mr Boachie added that the NPMP would not only help clean Ghana but would also help create jobs, thereby reducing unemployment in the country.

He explained the third component of the plastic policy was the establishment of waste recovery digital platform by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which would promote sustainable waste recovery in Ghana by bringing together stakeholders in the waste management sector.

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