By Godfred A. Polkuu
Nayagnia (U/E), May 11, GNA – The City Waste Recycling Company, a multi-purpose green enterprise, in collaboration with Green Vista Foundation Ghana, has constructed a plastic recycling plant for residents of Nayagnia in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The plant, one of the Company’s several plastic recycling plants established across the country, is valued at about US$70,000.00 and is estimated to employ about 150 permanent staff and other informal waste collectors.
At a durbar of the chiefs and people of the Navrongo Traditional Area, capital of the Kassena-Nankana District, to commission the plant, Madam Vivian Ahiayiboi, the Managing Director of City Waste Recycling Company Limited, said the company saw waste as a resource, hence its decision to venture into the partnership to work on waste.
The project was implemented with support from the German Ministry of Development, the German Development Bank, the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and JC Hagen, which would take the plastics that could not be used locally, she told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.
“We are setting up these pre-processing units in all the 16 regions of Ghana to process the plastics, make it condense and increase the volumes as well,” Madam Ahiayiboi said.
Any person who brought waste to the plant would be paid instantly, and registered onto the National Health Insurance Scheme, she said.
“We are collecting paper, plastic, metals, electrical and electric waste, glass, and other waste products.”
Madam Ahiayiboi said apart from the income the plant would generate for the collectors and the permanent employment opportunity for people, the environment would be cleaned of plastics and other waste materials to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Mr John Pwamang, the Chairman of the Green Vista Foundation Ghana, said the waste, especially plastic materials, caused a lot of environmental hazards, including choking of drains, and encouraged the people to send their waste to the plant to ensure a clean environment.
“We look forward to the cooperation of the public so that we can move the project to the next level,” he said.
Mr Jurgen Meinel, the Technical Director of City Waste Recycling Company, who trained employees on plastic recycling activities, said apart from the technical support, the company guaranteed them off-take.
“We guarantee them the off-take. Anything that they produce, we pay them and take it,” he said.
The plant was commissioned by the Paramount Chief of the Navrongo Traditional Area, Pe Denis Asagpaare Balinia Adda II.
GNA