According to news reports, the Ghanaian Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovations will “sanction a directive in two weeks” banning the production and importation of non-degradable plastic products.
Like many countries, Ghana’s rapid development has put significant pressure on sanitation management systems in the country’s urban centers. However, the issue became a national priority when waste-clogged drains and gutters contributed to last month’s tragic floods in the capital city of Accra. The proposed ban follows weeks of comments from President John Mahama, Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur and the general public about the role that plastic waste in particular played in the disaster.
Ghana will be joining a host of other African countries that have instituted similar measures to curb or outright ban the import, manufacture and/or use of plastics especially very thin plastics. The list of countries that have instituted similar measures includes Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Mauritania, Tanzania, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda.