By Samuel Akumatey
Awudome Avenui (V/R), Jun. 06, GNA – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Volta Region has launched this year’s World Environment Day celebration in the Region at Awudome Avenui in the Ho West District.
The event featured a community sensitisation programme and a ceremonial tree planting exercise to kick off a series of programmes and activities across the Region to mark the Day.
Mr Hope Smith Lomotey, Regional Director of the EPA, said the Awudome Avenui community, which had been working with the Agency to develop its environmental wealth, was selected to host the launch for its efforts.
He said the community had been declared free of plastic pollution, and that its cleanliness and environmental attractiveness, when sustained, would be beneficial to the EPA on its mandate.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Beat Plastic Pollution,” and the EPA is working with basic schools in the community together with a private waste management company to promote waste segregation.
He said plastic waste continued to deplete the quality of the environment, when indiscriminately disposed, and appealed to the community to continue to support efforts to reduce pollution.
The community had also benefited from some tree planting campaigns by the Agency, and the Regional Director said the promotion of the afforestation initiative would positively affect the environment and tourism appeal.
Mr Lomotey said the EPA had plans to introduce quails to the area, and hoped the project would be supported to make the mountainous enclave further attractive.
Mama Gbeklui IV, Queenmother of the Community, commended the efforts the EPA and said, “the area has changed a lot.”
She said the community embraced the waste management programme and was hoping to profit from a plastic recycling initiative and assured of “increased improvement” going forward.
The Queenmother appealed to the EPA and partners to provide waste bins for the community to be able to expand the sanitation management programme to all homes and establishments.
Executives of Wasteman, the private sanitation management company, at the launch, said it was educating school children on proper plastic waste disposal, which was crucial to recycling.
He hoped that they would be influenced to further transform the community.
Stakeholders at the event engaged the community in an open forum, which included students who contributed ideas and asked questions to support the initiatives.
EPA executives joined the community members and leaders at the local Methodist Basic School for the ceremonial planting to launch the celebration, and the community received 200 wood tree seedlings to be set out to mark the Day.
The UN has chosen the fifth day of June as World Environment Day, and Mr Lomotey told the GNA that some activities including planting of trees had been laid out for the celebration, and that there would be educational programmes on plastic waste throughout the week in the various Municipalities and Districts.
The Regional Director said through the collaboration with Wasteman, a total of 56 schools in the Region had received plastic bins totalling 120, to promote improved waste management.
GNA