AGI members to support plastic waste management

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has launched a project that seeks to recycle plastic waste into concrete materials.

The project was developed by the Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprises (GRIPE), a consortium of companies under the AGI, and would be rolled out this month on pilot in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The aim of the project is to help address the plastic waste menace in the country by turning plastics into concrete materials for the construction of toilets.

The toilets will be funded by GRIPE and handed over to communities as a way to help address open defecation and also support the government’s agenda to build a million public toilets.

Partnership

Addressing journalists in Accra last Wednesday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, said the conversion of plastic waste to concrete materials was key towards supporting efforts by the government to tackle environmental waste management in the country.

“GRIPE, among others, is committed to ensuring that industry plays a critical role in driving the agenda in Ghana towards the new plastic economy,” he said.

GRIPE is made up of eight companies. They are Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd, Fan Milk Limited, Dow Chemical West Africa Limited, Nestle Ghana, Unilever Ghana, PZ Cussons, Voltic and Coca-Cola Bottling Ghana Limited.

Mr Twum-Akwaboah said since GRIPE was launched in 2017, it had engaged government agencies in an effort to find alternative solutions to the issue of plastic waste management.

Project component

A representative of EAP Consult Limited, the implementers of the project, Ms Heather Troutman, said the project would be achieved through integrated and sustainable waste management solutions.

She said the first phase of the project would be data collection, education, solution implementation and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

“Once we are done with that, we will then proceed to collect the plastic waste, modify and use them to build concrete materials that will be used for the construction of the toilets,” Ms Troutman said.