The company collected large volumes of plastic waste

Mr Richmond Kennedy Quarcoo, the Executive Director of Plastic Punch, a non-governmental organisation increasing awareness on sustainable waste management practices in Ghana, has called on the government and stakeholders to hold plastic packaging companies accountable for the waste they generate by investing in brand audits.

Mr Quarcoo made this call following the collection of 2,657kg of plastic waste from four beach clean-ups at Ningo Prampram and Nungua in the first quarter of 2022 by Plastic Punch and its partners.

He explained that if implemented effectively, brand auditing, which is the categorisation and counting of litter according to the type of packaging and associated brands, could be used to propel innovations in packaging, waste management, reusable solutions and influence an extended producer responsibility regime.

The beach clean-ups which were done in the Kpoete Community at Ningo-Prampram and the Regional Maritime University at Nungua in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation (MESTI), was funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation under the facilitation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat.

The exercise, under the project, “Marine litter and microplastics: promoting the environmentally sound management of plastic wastes and achieving the prevention and minimisation of the generation of plastic wastes,” is aimed at increasing knowledge and awareness among decision-makers, academia, and the larger public about plastic waste found on beaches in Ghana.

Mr Quarcoo said that individual efforts were not sufficient to minimise plastic waste if companies were not being held accountable for their contributions to the increase of plastic waste at the beaches.

“Companies need to have alternatives to single-use plastics for the packaging of their products by investing in alternatives, research and development so there will be fewer plastic wastes, especially on our beaches,” he added.

Giving more details on the NGO’s activities at Nungua and Ningo-Prampram, Mr Quarcoo said, “beach clean-ups are a great tool to sensitise the public about the impact of plastic pollution on the environment and marine life as well as to encourage behavioural change in reducing pollution.

He noted that Plastic Punch has been getting rid of marine debris on beaches through its clean-ups since 2018 after a team of passionate marine life advocates found five dead sea turtles on a plastic-infested beach at Ningo-Prampram.

“As an organisation, we hope through our beach clean-ups and awareness creation, people living in coastal areas and inland communities would understand the importance of keeping plastic-free and clean beaches for the sake of the environment, marine life as well as tourism,” he said.

Mr Quarcoo said the next steps for Plastic Punch would be to use the data collected from these clean-ups to collaborate with MESTI and other stakeholders to educate plastic manufacturers and users on the impact of plastic waste on the environment as well as hold them accountable for the waste they produce by advocating an Extended Producer Responsibility Regime.

By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah