Over the past week, Meridian Port Services (MPS) demonstrated a commitment to help fight plastic pollution as persons, governments, businesses and organisations globally marked World Environment Day.
Together with state authorities within the Port Community – including the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, MPS started off the celebration with a sensitisation exercise to educate workers at the Terminal 3 on the responsible use and disposal of plastics.
The workers at the port were encouraged to begin the segregation of waste at their homes and the workplace.
Local waste management authorities were also encouraged to begin to consider recycling plastics as it is not only an environmental initiative, but an economic one.
MPS, on that day, also played host to the Marine Pollution Technical Committee to discuss marine pollution around the Tema Port enclave and Tema coastline, address institutional gaps and interventions, as well as strategise to implement the action plan to fight the situation.
The committee consists of stakeholders from the maritime sector as well as the adjoining districts, which include the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Meridian Port Services, Ghana Maritime Authority, Tema Shipyard, Association of Ghana Industries, Environmental Protection Agency, Eastern Naval Base, Marine Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Tema Traditional Council, Tema West Municipal Assembly, Kpong Katamanso Municipal Assembly (KKMA), and selected heads of departments and units from the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).
At the storm drain around the Terminal 3 of the Tema Port, a Snr. Environmental Specialist – MPS, Henry A. Okine, called on adjoining communities to the port to end the indiscriminate disposal of waste.
“Most of these rubbish coming in are plastic waste and it is quite alarming. Besides plastic waste, we have faecal matter also coming through. In a year, we spend over GH¢300,000 to keep the V-drain clean. We have some of our cleaners who do the job for us but that is not sustainable. What is sustainable is that people need to change their behaviour of improper waste disposal. I want to call on the community out there. We all need to be educated and also change our ways of improper waste disposal,” he said in an interview with Eye on Port.
