The CEO of Zoomlion Ghana limited, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has hinted that the basic solution to Ghana’s waste challenge is to ensure that every household has a waste bin to store waste which is a basic pre-requisite in waste management.
Dr. Agyepong who made these remarks at a stakeholders’ forum on Sanitation organized in Accra revealed that improper waste storage continues to hinder the progress of work done by waste contractors.
He said: “When these waste are not stored in a waste bin for collection by the waste contractor, then we are rest assured that it might end up at unauthorized places, hence the urgent need to ensure that households have waste bins and sanitation regulations enforced to change attitudes for effective waste management”.
He hinted that Zoomlion’s intervention by desilting the odor drains have averted possible flood situations which claimed several lives two years ago. “Despite not being paid for our desilting works on the odor drain, Zoomlion is still committed to desilting the odor drain to save lives and properties which has been a phenomenon anytime we experience a heavy sown pour of rains”, he added.
Dr. Agyepong metioned the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, waste transfer stations, plastics recycling, medical waste treatment and solving Ghana’s 100 years’ problem of discharging waste into the sea by providing a faecal treatment plant as some innovations introduced by Zoomlion to solve Ghana’s waste challenge.
He added that many provisions in Ghana’s sanitation policy in terms of building physical infrastructure have been constructed by Zoomlion, emphasizing that the private sector has the capacity and there is no need to re-invent gains made to this effect.
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Joseph Kofi Adda in his presentation hinted of plans to deploy sanitation brigades to enforce sanitation laws and help shape attitudes towards good sanitation.
He eluded to the fact that, Environmental service providers have the capacity and there is the need for government to support them to consolidate their efforts to effectively manage waste.
He commended Zoomlion for its introduction of waste trucks which has helped in managing waste and urged the company despites debts owed it to continually provide effective service to help solve Ghana’s waste challenge.
The Mayor of Accra, Mr. Mohammed Adjei Sowah who also spoke as a panelist revealed that the polluter payment system should work and allow those who create the waste to pay a fee to enable effective collection.
Other stakeholders at the forum agreed that waste bin distribution, waste transfer stations, composting and recycling, landfill managemet and enforcing the sanitation laws and regulations is the way to go if Ghana wants to lift itself from the waste menace.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
