UGPRP set to increase drop off points of plastic on Campus

The University of Ghana’s quest to provide a second life to plastic waste has received a boost with the receipt of dustbins and a tricycle from Coca-Cola, a beverage production company.

With the support, the University’s initiative called the University of Ghana Plastic Recycling Project (UGPRP) will increase drop off points of plastic waste on campus.

Mr Bethel Yeboah, Director Public Affairs, West Africa Business Unit of Coca Cola, who presented the items at a brief ceremony in Accra, said the gesture was part of efforts toward circular economy.

He said Coca-Cola Company’s World Without Waste vision had a target to collect and recycle the equivalent bottle it produced and use 50 per cent recycled material in all its packaging by 2030.

“By amplifying the sorting and recycling process, this initiative is expected to positively impact the local after-use plastics market by elevating the value of plastic waste,” he said.

Professor Kwesi Appeaning Addo, Director, Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), who received the items thanked the Company for the support noting that it reinforced the academia and industry.

As the University prepared to host All African Games next year, he stated, the support would complement its preparation towards hosting successful sporting activities.

Referencing a World Bank Study, he noted that an estimated 86 per cent of Ghana’s waste plastic load was improperly disposed of resulting in plastics clogging up stormwater drains, rivers, and streams and ending up in the ocean.

“The University does not want to contribute to this, that is why we are taking steps to ensure sustainability, and contribute to climate action,” he said.

Dr Benjamin D. Ofori, a Fellow at IESS, stated that UG’s plastic project sought to promote waste segregation among the University community through the promotion of behavioural change.

He said the global community was confronted with huge environmental challenges, including plastic pollution.

Dr Ofori noted that to address the challenge, the Global Plastic Action Partnership was launched in 2018 with the view to bringing together governments, the public, private sector and civil society to effectively discuss the problem and chart an effective way forward.

He said: “I am glad the UG through the UGPRP, is a student-led initiative and supported by the Vice-Chancellor’s Green Project is contributing to the global solution.”

The initiative involves the provision of facilities for source segregation at vantage points on the University Campus and at halls to complement its awareness creation.

There is also the collection, storage and sale of the recyclables to third parties for value addition in a bid to give the plastics a second life.