A Recycling Plant in Every Ghanaian District?

On Monday, a story was published on spyghana.com highlighting plans by the government in partnership with Zoomlion to begin a pilot program building 160 recycling plants meant to serve every district in the country. It aims to involve every citizen in recycling and to push them to desist from littering. I think that this indeed is a step in the right direction and would do much to address Ghana’s bulging solid waste management problem. I do also think that announcement should be looked at objectively.

 

 

 

The Good News 

Despite the persistent trash problem in Ghana’s cities, the awareness and patronage of recycling facilities is actually on the increase. One can spot people picking plastic bottles and pure water sachets along roads and in lorry parks in order to sell them to recycling centers. This proves that the potential for us to properly conquer this problem is in sight.

It is also stated in the article that “if this initiative proved successful, government would then be convinced to introduce an environmental tax for petro-chemical industries and other industrial concerns.” If this tax could be implemented and channeled wisely then I imagine that more could be invested into the recycling/waste management sector.

It looks as if in terms of waste management, industry seems to be driving policy. This is good because it pushes government to use the practical experience of success in industry to shape what’s implemented.

…but let’s be cautious 

With Zoomlion creating a waste management monopoly of sorts, its influence on policy may work solely in its favor and not for that of all waste management companies or all players in the waste management sector.

Also, there wasn’t a timeline given for this project or much detail about how the system would ensure that its successful. We dont know the implementation strategy or if the initial 1.05 million U.S. Dollar initial investment needed would be given on loan adding to the  GHS 33.5 billion Ghanaian national debt.

We also don’t know what educational/software initiatives will accompany this move. Even with basic education being free in the country currently, not everyone takes their children to school. So what’s the guarantee that this will catch on widely?

So.. we’d like to ask:

If you knew that you could sell your plastic waste for a small profit… would you separate your waste and deliver it to your district recycling plant?

Stagnant

Reblogged from A Shot To Remember:

I'm grateful that images don't carry smell, and you should be too. This river runs through Accra. Or rather, this was a river that ran through Accra. This is what it has been reduced to. The funny thing though; as I was walking by this, the women selling their wares nearby (who, for reasons unknown to me, thought I was a journalist) kept on asking me to "Take a picture of the river!

Read more… 40 more words

A great depiction of the sanitation challenges we face.

Estimated Amount of Waste Generated Daily in Accra

Estimated Cost of Poor Sanitation in Ghana

#KeepGhanaGreen

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Improve the Green Ghanaian

This blog seeks to hold a discussion on environmental preservation in Ghana. As we begin the new year we want to be more engaging and enlightening. Please give us honest answers to this survey so that we can be better at accomplishing our mission and saving Ghana’s environment!

Give us your vote -> Safeguarding the Water-Energy Nexus

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2013 is an international platform that will address global problems surrounding water, energy and the environment. Without water there would be no survival of life and energy is what makes the world go round but a closer look at many of the systems used in today’s world show that you need water to make energy… and you need energy to make water.

Water makes energy

16.1 percent of global electricity supply is generated by hydro-electric dams. This means that without particular water bodies as hydro-power sources billions of people would lose their electricity which would put the pressure on other types of generation. Alternatively, power stations driven by turbines need steam (another form of water) to function. Yet another angle to consider is the presence of off-shore oil rigs. The extractive operations of these fossil fuels that power our lives are surrounded by the ocean and its marine life which function around it. The sea serves as both a source for fuel, biodiversity, seafood and the livelihood of many fisherfolk. Water makes energy.

Courtesy: http://morguefile.com/archive/display/691633

Energy makes water

The biggest global water challenges spring from the lack of access to a water source or the fact that the available water source isn’t clean enough to drink. The distribution and treatment of water both take energy. If you live in an arid area, pipes and pumps are going to bring water your way. If your water source is contaminated, you will need use an energy source to purify it by either boiling, distillation or reverse osmosis depending on what the contaminant is. Energy makes water.

 

Safeguarding the Water-Energy Nexus

Once the nexus between the challenges of water and energy is recognized, they can be tackled simultaneously.

Protect water bodies

Water bodies become polluted and/or degraded due to human activities resulting in poor water quality and reduction in flow for dams. Fishing methods such as the use of poisons and explosives tend to pollute the water while fish are being caught. Poorly monitored mining activities can discharge harmful chemicals like arsenic, sulphuric acid, and mercury directly into water bodies and soil which eventually seeps into streams and rivers as well. As individuals, businesses and especially as leaders we have a responsibility to ensure that water bodies are protected. Water bodies are irreplaceable and so vital to our human existence. Protecting them from human destruction should be the highest priority of all nations, both rich and poor.

 

Enforce Buffer Zones

A buffer zone is a protected area along the periphery of a water body that is off limits to human activity. It is created to allow the undisturbed natural flow of the water and growth of vegetation which tend to be harvested for domestic or industrial reasons. The vegetation prevents the soil from eroding into the water and also filters out contaminants naturally through its roots. Our leaders must create buffer zones around our critical water bodies and enforce them. This will keep both our water and energy source intact for generations to come.

 

Foster Inter-Country Cooperation

In many cases a critical water body runs through more than one country. This holds true for the Volta (Ghana, Burkina Faso), the Nile (Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt) and the Amazon (Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador). The process of ensuring that the inhabitants of all the countries are able to get an adequate water supply, power supply and avoid conflict is a delicate one that requires the consensus of the leaders of all nations involved.

 

Our water and energy challenges don’t need to overwhelm us. A nexus exists. Let’s safeguard it.

 

This post is an entry to the Masdar’s Engage: The Water-Energy Nexus Blogging Contest. Please click here and vote for me!

Green Ghanaian’s Ghana Decides Tag Video

The Link:

Here I express my opinions on the upcoming election as an environmental scientist (Green Ghanaian) with my Ghana Decides Tag Video. Ghana Decides is an initiative in Ghana creating awareness about Ghana’s 2012 elections. http://www.ghanadecides.com.

To participate in the Ghana Decides Tag, select and answer five (5) of the questions (on the website) about Ghana’s election. Once you’re done, share your video and tag (pick) 5-6 of your friends to make their own! Don’t forget to use the hashtags #GhanaDecides and #GHDTag! Tag, YOU’re it!

For full details visit: http://ghanadecides.com/about/projects/ghana-decides-tag/

Take a look and leave your comments. Thanks.