A Non-Governmental Organization, Environment 360 (E360) has outdoored an initiative known as PET for Recycling.
The initiative, according to founder and CEO of Environment 360 Mrs. Cordie Aziz will involve the picking of waste plastic bottles
She said the initiative which is supported by German Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia and GIZ is part of a larger pilot project to reduce the amounts of plastic litter in Ghana by developing the capacity of informal sector waste workers and youth.
Mrs. Cordie Aziz stated that since the Take Back Center was established in July more than 15 metric tons of PET has been collected with more than $12,000 paid to “waste pickers” in the Madina and Adenta Area over the past three months.
She said E360 believes the Take Back model has the potential of being operated successfully throughout various parts of Accra with cooperation from key stakeholders.
E360 has for the past five years tested several models for collection of plastic.
The E360 CEO called on the Government of Ghana and local assemblies to wholly embrace the Take Back model since it has shown the most potential.
“Placing Take Back centers in strategic places around the city, these will empower informal waste workers to collect more recyclable waste and thereby reduce the amount of plastic pollution that we find in our communities, gutters and oceans,” she recommended.
Mrs. Cordie Aziz called on private players interested in reducing plastic litter in Accra and beyond to partner E360 and further urged all bottling companies to play a bigger role in tackling plastic pollution with the hope that they can expand the number of livelihoods being supported and the volumes of plastic waste being properly disposed and collected at source from coastal and urban communities.
E360 is best known as the creator of the first successful community recycling program, Evolve and has collected more than 500 metric tons of plastic through its activities over the past 5 years .
Story by: Bismark Oppong (Reporter)/Radiogoldlive.com
