IN - Government Declares Recycling War on Plastic Waste

Today, I would like to explore an article found on IRIN News called ‘GHANA: Government declares recycling war on plastic waste’.  IRIN News is "a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs".  The article was written in July 2004, about a program that the Ghanaian government launched to eliminate waste generated in Accra.

As we can now see, nine years later, recycling has not solved the problem of plastic waste.  Some may see it as a problem for the economy, due to the effects it may have on tourism, yet go to Osu and you know tourism is not suffering extensively.  Since plastics have replaced leaves, glass and metal as a cheaper, and more efficient means of packaging, this non-biodegradable waste has been collecting around the country, choking drains, threatening small animals, damaging the soil and polluting beaches.  Despite these crucial issues, recycling was meant to improve Tourism, create jobs and save foreign exchange in imports of drugs to fight cholera and malaria that can be linked to rubbish heaps.  

The army created for this war was the Recycling Taskforce, a group of sixteen people from the government, plastic manufacturers, water sachet producers and city authorities.  These people were given the task of encouraging creation of new recycling plants as well as working with existing recyclers to expand their facilities.  The goal was to begin by recycling plastic waste into kitchen utensils, as well as pushing for legislation to promote the use of recycled plastic in the manufacture of items such as dustbins and gutters.  The Recycling Taskforce hired a team of waste collectors and supplied them with push-carts for house-to-house collection.  Paid one US dollar for every fifty kilograms they collected, the waste would then be stored at one of ten depots around Accra until the time came to recycle.

Furthermore, waste recycling companies from South Africa and the Netherlands expressed interest in the project and media targeted children.  There was a goal to create environmental clubs in schools, so as to increase awareness of the damage that littering can do, as well as to teach them about recycling.

Adjei-Darko, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, stated that without proper recycling, "the alternative ...is to completely ban the production and importation of plastics, which would be a very painful action considering the plight of industry and employment."  I am not sure that industry and employment would suffer as much as he says, though.  Given the social, environmental and health issues linked with plastics, it seems to me the best thing would be to ban plastics globally, and if one country makes that stand, they would be the global leaders for this initiative.

Because of this idea of a possible ban, some plastic producers did begin to help the government fund the project, though there was some resistance to the amount.  The National Association of Sachet Water Producers, for example, found the monthly contribution of fifty thousand US dollars for clearing of plastic waste to be excessive; the association president stated that the authorities should not “target only the water producers" and that she would contribute half the requested amount.  Another source of funding was also proposed to come from people who drop litter, showing that the water producers are not the only ones targeted.  Local authorities having obtained legal backing to prosecute litter bugs, were able to make it that culprits face six months in jail or a twenty US dollar fine.  Personally, I think this is fully acceptable, particularly in a country like Ghana.  The reason for this is that since there is so much pollution in the form of littering in the country and since so many people cannot afford to pay any kind of fine, let alone twenty US dollars (which at times could amount to forty Ghana), this would greatly reduce pollution.  It may take time since the police are not everywhere (and I do not think they should be), but change has to start somewhere.

Despite all of my comments, this article brings up an important point: change forced by the government and by policy can only go so far.  When change comes from the grassroots, it disperses and becomes lasting change.

tS - Reasons for Optimism series: Africa’s lions are roaring as economies take off

“Reasons for Optimism series: Africa’s lions are roaring as economies take off” by Jonathan Power is an optimistic and concise article that praises the economy in Africa.  Power discusses primarily the use of cell phones and the growth of this market on the continent in comparison to any other global market.  Power’s article is quite encouraging.  Many Ghanaians I know have regularly explained to me the importance of boosting their economy.  The goal behind this boost always seems to be that they want to be rich like the foreigners that come visit them.  The humanitarian side of me agrees.  I don’t understand why there is so much food and technology, yet so few are able to take advantage of either.  Those who do are a minority, despite this not being obvious to them.

On the other hand, I can’t help but think about so many of the problems that can be seen.  Humans have created the economy, yet we now depend on it as though it is a divine being.  Many people work at reducing poverty, yet they disregard what causes poverty.  Is poverty really the problem?  Could people feed themselves without the economy?  Could technology be created then used in a way that all benefit, rather than causing mass environmental and social destruction?  These questions raise a lot of issues and the answers seem simple to me, yet so many disagree.  If they don’t, then they appear to, because these problems persist.

Let’s look at the main technology discussed – cell phones.  In a few previous posts(18 June 2012; 26 July 2012; and 4 December 2012), I have discussed electronic waste, of which cell phones do play a part.  Now, let’s look at another side.  Cell phones, like any other consumer product, need to be assembled.  Who assembles them?  I do not have the answer for all cases, though based on what I do know at this time, working and living conditions tend to be in the form of suffering.  Where do the parts come from?  They are made with minerals and oil products.  First, the extractive industry is known to cause much devastation across the world.  Resource extraction can often cause much conflict, particularly as the firms increase in size.  When I mention the Western Region, I am sure many Ghanaians remember relatively recent conflicts in Bogoso, Prestea, Wassa ...these conflicts were because of the mining of minerals that are needed to create the technologies necessary to boost an economy.  Some companies are working at improving the problems, though this is not the case in many places, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The economy may be an important part of the current system, but at what cost?