Ghana generates one million tonnes of plastic waste every year – UNDP
While Ghana is vacillating between banning and not banning the use of plastic, the country is said to generate one million tonnes of plastic waste every year, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said in a tweet, noting that only two to five per cent that is 22,000 to 55,000 tonnes is recycled.
It says rest end up on landfill (38 per cent), 23 per cent ends up in the sea, 28 per cent on land and 11 per cent is burned.
The UNDP says it is working with stakeholders to address the issue and to ‘#BeatPlasticPollution’.
Since the first synthetic plastic, Bakelite was produced in 1907, the event that is believed to have started the global plastic industry, an until the 1950s when rapid growth in the industry was realized, over the next 65 years, annual production of plastic reportedly increased nearly 200-fold to 381 million tonnes in 2015.
#Ghana generates 1million tonnes of plastic waste annually. Out of this, only 2-5% (22,000-55,000) is recycled.The rest end on landfill (38%), sea (23%), land (28%) or burned (11%). #WasteRecoveryPlatform @UNDPGhana is working with stakeholders to #BeatPlasticPollution in #Ghana pic.twitter.com/oYT5t6ev1l
— UNDP Ghana (@UNDPGhana) April 16, 2019
There are calls in Ghana to ban plastics. But different governments at different times have responded half-heartedly, with no concrete action on the matter.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi