The menace of plastic waste in the cities, particularly the nation’s capital, Accra is indeed an eyesore. The situation is becoming very embarrassing. A casual stroll around town paints the picture better. Empty plastic bags are scattered and flying in the streets, markets and lorry stations the drains, gutters and culverts are heavily choked with left-overs of sachet water bags or what is popularly referred to as pure water.
Office and school premises have not been spared this sordid phenomenon. Evidently, the massive plastic waste around is not only an eyesore.It creates a deplorable unsanitary condition that poses a health hazard to the people, hence the outcry.
How do we then deal with the situation? More precisely, what is the efficient and effective solution to the plastic waste problem? Over the years, clean-up exercises have been carried out from time to time by various groups of people and organizations, yet no desirable results have been achieved.
It has been observed that the production and sale of sachet water has worsened the plastic waste problem in the city. The process involves the collection, disposal and recycling of waste, that is, turning waste into productive items for industrial use.
Unfortunately, recycling waste in our part of the world has not been effective. To ensure an efficient and effective waste management system, workers must be engaged to clean the streets, markets and lorry station daily.
For this to be effective, waste disposal trucks must be deployed to dispose off waste on time to prevent their accumulation, while plants and machinery are assembled for recycling instead of dumping waste on land sites in the vicinity, a practice that creates environmental pollution and a health hazard to the people.
Indeed, the open waste disposal method is very unhygienic and outmoded.
The option therefore, is modern waste management which is integrated in the scheme of metropolitan administration and given priority attention.
