Voltic Ghana Limited, one of the largest producers of bottled water in the country, has launched the second phase of its PET plastic recycling project to help reduce the amount of scattered plastic waste in the environment.
The first phase of the project, which was launched in October last year, was to measure the feasibility of a large scale community PET recycling project.
The project as at January this year, had collected and recycled over 400 kilograms of PET waste and reached over 200 households.
[contextly_sidebar id=”H1iwaQsqbl3QKdkmgkcDKZqcEo36xSii”]Following the success of the programme, Voltic has scaled it up and has distributed about 20 PET waste collection containers to various public and private locations.
These containers which were designed and developed by Voltic, have been placed at shopping malls, gym centres, and selected gated communities within the Accra metropolis.
Voltic has also donated a truck to Environment360 to ensure the regular evacuation of PET waste from these locations.
According to the General Manager of Voltic, Philip Redman, “the company is very excited to give more members the opportunity to recycle their plastic bottles through evolve. Voltic has been a long standing supporter of a clean world through the adoption of sustainable practices in its own business model. We strongly believe this landmark project will have a visible impact on communities throughout Accra. Our anticipation is to recycle at least one metric tonnes of PET waste through Evolve this year and help educate an estimated 10,000 children on the importance of recycling.”
Also speaking at the launch, the Executive director of Environment360, Cordie Aziz said the project has the capacity to impact the landscape of Accra and the lives of children living in the worst environmental conditions.
According to her “Everyone has the right to live in a clean environment, regardless of economic status. Evolve is key, not only in giving individuals an opportunity to recycle but also educating and empowering children in coastal and urban communities to find solutions to some of their pressing environmental issues.”
She further indicated that all proceeds from the project will be spent on education locals of various communities about the need to recycle.
Accra generates an average on 3000 tonnes of solid waste daily of which between 8-12% represent PET plastic waste. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly is only able to collect 60 of this waste with the remaining finding its way into drains and the streets of the city.
The Director of the Plastic Waste Management Program, Quaranchie Adama Tettey, who was also speaking at the launch, indicated that, “Education and adequate waste containers are often the key components of all recycling programmes. Therefore, my outfit encourages all community members to support the recycling project wholeheartedly.”
Also present at the launch were representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other organizations such as FinePak who donated internal lining for the waste containers.
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By: Kwame Botchway/citifmnonline.com/Ghana.