The Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprises (GRIPE) has in collaboration with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources embarked on a massive cleanup exercise at the Nima market in the Ayawaso East Municipal District and its environs to mark the World Cleanup Day over the weekend.
A goal that crosses borders and defies religious and cultural differences, World Cleanup Day is one of the biggest civic movements of our time, uniting 191 countries across the world for a cleaner planet. It has since 2018, brought together millions of people for the biggest waste collection day in human history.
To mark the event in Ghana which fell on Saturday, September 1, 2022, workers from GRIPE and the ministry of sanitation and water resources including some residents were at the NIMA market as of 7 am cleaning up the place,
The workers with support from Zoomlion also swept the shoulders of the streets and collected the refuse into garbage trucks and tricycles for disposal.
Commenting on the exercise in an interview with journalists, the President of GRIPE, Basil Ampofo, said the event aimed at harnessing the power of the indigenes of the Ayawaso East Municipal District to achieve incredible things in promoting sustainable plastic waste management in the country.
“Plastic waste management and the issue of sanitation in the country, in general, is bad. So, no matter how small an event is it still gives a great impact. And, that’s what we are trying to do here to show the people of Nima that it’s important for them to clean up their environment as well as get all the plastic collected for recycling to avoid the continuous blockage of the drainages,” he said.
The Chief Director at the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Noah Tumfo, called for behavioural change among Ghanaians and appreciate the need for properly disposing of refuse to advance the government’s clean Ghana agenda.
“And, so we will continue to educate the public and the communities to see the need for keeping a clean environment,” he told journalists during the exercise.
For the Head of Communications and Sustainability Lead of Unilever Ghana, Henry Herbert Malm, marking World Cleanup Day gives credence to the fact that “we all need to step up to ensure that we have a clean society.”
He commended all workers of the participating institutions for coming out in their numbers to mark the day.
About GRIPE
GRIPE was formed through the concerted effort of eight (8) industry stakeholders of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), aimed at finding workable solutions to plastic waste management challenges in Ghana. GRIPE currently has 14 members, namely: Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Dow Chemical West Africa Limited, FanMilk PLC, Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC, Nestlé Ghana, PZ Cussons Ghana Limited, Unilever Ghana PLC, Accra Brewery Limited, Pernod Ricard Ghana Limited, Mohinani Group, Voltic (GH) Limited, Fine Pack Industries, KGM Industries and Universal Plastic Products & Recycling Limited. GRIPE is committed to integrating sustainable waste management solutions, particularly around plastics
