Fighting the plastic menace is a collective responsibility—Environmental Expert

Accra, March 30, GNA – Dr Emmanuel Tachie-Obeng, Environmentalist and Coordinator, Church of Pentecost Environmental Care Campaign, Dome District, has called on the citizenry to collectively pull resources together and fight the plastic menace.

“In Ghana, the Government is always expected to solve the plastic menace, but it is about time individuals also become responsible and take charge of the filth they generate, particularly plastics,” he added.

He said the wait and anticipation from the public that the Government would have to fix the sanitation challenges and recycle our plastic waste would plunge the country into destruction.

Dr Techie-Obeng said this at the launch of the 2022 Dome District Environmental Care Campaign of the Church of Pentecost, Haatso Area, together with their Evangelism Ministry.

The campaign was in line with the vision of the church which placed a duty on members to possess and protect the land or nation given to mankind by God Almighty.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said, “we are agents of transformation and so what the church members do must change the communities.”

Dr Techie-Obeng said their focus this year was on galvanising support to help reduce the plastics canker because we were being overwhelmed by it, adding that rubbers and plastics do not only pollute our water bodies and destroy the natural habitat of fish species but destroy our soil, vegetation and crops.

He called on the public to limit the use of plastics and rubber but patronise the paper and basket bags though Government was collaborating with the private sector to also recycle most of the plastics.

Mr Charles Asabre, Head of Sanitation, Ga East Municipal Assembly, admonished the congregants to have a change of attitude in handling their waste.

“If we want to curb the plastic menace, we need to have a behavioural change. Let’s get dustbins for the Plastic so we dispose of them properly. Let’s not throw garbage into gutters,” he said.

He urged members of the church to in their own small ways provide bins for families and households, sensitise the public on the dangers of plastic waste and be deep-rooted in the “Operation Clean Your Frontage” initiative.

Meanwhile, Mr Benjamin Kwasi Arthur, District Pastor, Church of Pentecost, Dome said as Christians, they owed it a duty to preserve and protect the lands and environment bestowed on mankind by God.

He assured that the Church of Pentecost would not renege on its commitment to propagate the good news about a clean and safe environment.

Mr Ben Kwoffie, an Elder and participant expressed his delight to have learned a lot from videos shown on plastics and discussions made to highlight a paradigm shift.

He promised to share the information with his families and community and be an ambassador for a clean environment.

The Environmental Care Campaign is a five-year vision of the Church of Pentecost and was started in 2019.

GNA