Stars join campaign against plastics

Some local showbiz icons led a star-studded extravaganza at the maiden Zero-Borla Fashion and Music show in Accra last Saturday in the advocacy for the ban of single-use plastics in Ghana.

It featured artistes such as Efe Keyz, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, and Stonebwoy who was made the global ambassador of the advocacy for the ban on single-use plastic by Wash Africa, a non-profit organisation focused on environmental sanitation, which organised the event.

The show also featured models who wore costumes designed with single-use plastic trash such as water bottles, balloons, cutlery, compact disc (CD), food containers, grocery bags, disposable cups and straws.

The outfits, which also included electronic and medical waste materials, were designed by two Ghanaian fashion designers — El Mateo and FOG.

The event was targeted at encouraging the youth to appreciate the adverse impact of single-use plastic on the environment and the need to refrain from littering.

Voices

The President of Wash Africa, Mr Ashim Morton, said almost every part of the country was plagued with poor sanitation, hence the need to initiate steps to showcase the challenge.

“Today, it is common to find raw sewage mixed with plastics that are choking our gutters, creating floods and cholera,” he said, and called on Ghanaians to support the President’s call to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

“We have to come together to have a better understanding of how to manage single-use plastic in Ghana and see how to bring about changes so that we do not have all these floods and problems we have in the country today,” he stated.

Optimism

Mr Morton was optimistic that the display of single-use plastics, electronic and medical waste by the models would trigger a debate on the proper management of those materials in Ghana.

“It is so important that all Ghanaians raise their voices so that we can ban single-use plastics in Ghana once and for all since it is hurting the environment and the people.

“This has to stop and we have to set a date to ban single-use plastic, and all the plastic manufacturers have to come together to support this advocacy,” he stated.

He expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the National Sports Authority and the Bank of Africa for supporting the event.