The Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has revealed the government’s plan to expand the country’s plastic collection and recycling programme to combat the growing plastic waste crisis.
He lamented the low rate of recycling, stating that only 10% of the plastic waste generated in Ghana is currently collected and processed.
“One thing that is of concern to me is that we are able to process just 10 per cent of the plastic waste we generate in this country,” he said. “So, the question is, the other 90 per cent—what happens?”
Speaking to journalists during a tour of recycling organizations in Accra, Dr. Muhammed emphasized the urgent need for increased collection and recycling efforts to curb environmental degradation.
The Ministry of Environment, Science, and Technology (MEST), in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is working with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to implement the Circular Economy Framework for the Plastic Sector in Ghana (CEF-PS).
The project, executed by the government and supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), has provided funding to nine companies to enhance plastic collection and recycling efforts.
Dr. Muhammed stressed that expanding recycling operations beyond Accra to cities like Tamale and Kumasi would not only help keep the country clean but also create employment opportunities.
“The plastic menace is all over the country, so we need to collect and recycle in Tamale, Kumasi, and the other regions,” he noted.
Dr. Glenn Kwabena Gyimah, an official at the Integrated Recycling Plant, highlighted that UNIDO had invested $410,000 in a plant to process polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics used in containers and textiles.
The five-year CEF-PS project, which began in 2022, seeks to strengthen Ghana’s plastic waste management, reduce pollution in waterways, and promote a circular economy for plastics.
