Page 46 from: West Coast report + Plastics Special

A U T H O R Kirstin Linnenkoper

46

Plastics recycling in
Ghana: the only way is up!
Small enterprises are pulling most of the weight when it comes to plastics recy-

cling in Ghana. ‘There is still a lot of work to do but we are making a lot of noise,’

says Daniel Yaw Mensah Tornyigah. As an advocate for the country’s Federation of

Plastic Manufacturers Recyclers and Users (FePMRUG), he talks about the ups and

downs entrepreneurs are facing in Ghana.

ARE THERE ANY CONCRETE
PLANS TO INVEST IN A RECY-
CLING VENTURE?
‘There were big plans – and still are.
Back in 2017, the government was
seriously considering funding a multi-
million PET recycling plant with a
European partner. The proposed daily
processing capacity was around 16
000 tonnes. Sadly, the concept
became stranded at an early stage. It’s
a shame because the facility was
going to be Ghana’s first bottle-to-
bottle recycling centre, probably
located near Accra. As I said before,
legislators need to follow through
with such projects and show real dedi-
cation. Ideas only bring you so far.’

SO, THE HI-TECH PET PLANT
MAY STILL BECOME REALITY?
‘I hope so. The concept is still intact.
Ideally, we would have more than one
such facility. That’s why we are push-
ing the recycling agenda at interna-
tional level. I’m happy to say, Ghana is
now in talks with the British govern-
ment. It’s a new relationship, I have
only just heard about it. No doubt, it
will take some time to work out the
details. I remain cautiously optimistic
the project will go ahead this time.’

HOW MUCH PLASTIC WASTE IS
GENERATED IN GHANA EVERY
YEAR?
‘A previous estimate was 1.7 billion
tonnes per year but it’s already a lot
more. The volume grows every year
and plastics represent over 16% of our
total waste stream. Most of the dis-
carded plastic is packaging, especially
PET bottles, shopping bags and food

trays. On top of this, the popularity of
single-use plastics has left its mark on
Africa.’

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST WASTE
HOTSPOTS IN GHANA?
‘Both the big cities and in the country-
side where there is no collection sys-
tem. Our capital Accra is somewhere
near the top with around 3 000 tonnes
of plastic waste generated every day.
In small villages, however, people will
simply throw their plastic garbage and
food waste into rivers and streams. It’s
a massive problem because that’s how
it gets into the ocean.’

HOW MUCH OF THIS IS RECY-
CLED? HAS THIS IMPROVED
MUCH IN RECENT YEARS?
‘Our recycling rate for plastics was
stuck at 1% for many years. Recently,
it has picked up the pace. It’s now a
little over 6%, I think, but that’s very
low compared to the rest of the
world. We’re still at the begining, tak-
ing the first steps, you might say. The
positive thing is that there is a signifi-
cant upwards trend.’

WHAT CHALLENGES ARE RECY-
CLERS IN GHANA FACING?
‘I’m sure our recycling rate would
increase more if recycling was a big-
ger priority for our government. Sadly,

that is not the case. Legislators easily
get distracted by other ‘more press-
ing’ concerns. Without strong commit-
ment, we are facing a lot of delays in
recycling projects.’

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM
THE GOVERNMENT?
‘Obviously, government backing
would help keep recycling in the
minds of the population. This includes
financial support of some kind. In fact,
a special recycling fund was set up
back in 2011. The idea was to finance
the recycling sector via taxes, specifi-
cally an Environmental Excise Tax
of 10% on plastic waste. So far, the
fund is thought to contain around US$
163 million (EUR 145 million).
However, not one cent has yet been
made available to recyclers – the
money is just sitting in the bank. We
have made appeals to dedicate the
money to recycling efforts, without
success.’

ON 2 JULY, PROFESSOR
KWABENA FRIMPONG
BOATENG, THE MINISTER OF
ENVIRONMENT, ANNOUNCED
A NEW FUND AT THE BANK OF
GHANA ESPECIALLY TARGETTING
PLASTIC IMPORTERS AND MANU-
FACTURERS. WILL THIS MAKE
ANY DIFFERENCE?
‘This move is an addition to the exist-
ing fund. It means that plastics pro-
ducers and importers will have to
pay a yet undefined amount in taxes
to support plastics recycling in Ghana.
I hope that, after the government
has made the necessary amendments,
recyclers will finally be able to
activate this fund and that we can see
a boost in recycling envisaged long
ago.’

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