Accra: The Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECoP) and Nelplast Ghana Limited have signed a cooperation agreement to formalise the supply of single-use plastic waste, particularly plastic sachets, for use in construction. This partnership aims to enhance Ghana's plastic waste recycling efforts under the Sustainability Community-Based Zero Plastic Waste Project, a two-year initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
According to Ghana News Agency, the agreement mandates IRECoP to recover and supply sorted plastic sachets, including water sachet wrappers, carrier bags, and other film plastics to Nelplast. Nelplast will then process these materials into plastic-sand bricks for use in various construction projects such as walkways, classrooms, and low-cost housing.
At the signing ceremony in Accra, Madam Betty Brown Nyadu, the General Manager of IRECoP, emphasized that the partnership formalised an existing collaboration and ensured a steady flow of high-quality plastic waste for construction innovation. She highlighted that the agreement would ensure plastics, which might otherwise end up in drains or landfills, are repurposed as durable, environmentally friendly building materials.
Mr Nelson Boateng, the Chief Executive Officer of Nelplast, hailed the partnership as a timely initiative that would aid his company in scaling up production and reducing the environmental burden of plastic waste in urban areas. He pointed out that a classroom block could be constructed using approximately 13,000 plastic sachets, showcasing the potential of waste-to-resource solutions to tackle both environmental and infrastructure challenges.
Dr Glenn K. Gyimah, the Project Coordinator of the Sustainability Community-Based Zero Plastic Waste (SCZWP), noted that plastic waste pollution in Ghana is a significant environmental challenge, with about 840,000 tonnes generated annually. He added that plastic pollution contributes considerably to carbon emissions throughout its lifecycle, from production to disposal, thereby playing a major role in climate change.
Dr Gyimah also mentioned that the high generation of plastic waste in urban cities and its low degradability result in substantial space occupation when landfilled. Additionally, burning plastics releases harmful compounds into the air, leading to respiratory diseases. The SCZWP initiative aims to recover up to 90 per cent of single-use plastic waste from mixed waste streams by 2030, creating green jobs, supporting community-based waste collection systems, and promoting plastic circularity in line with Ghana's National Plastic Action Partnership.