By Philip Tengzu
Kperisi, (UW/R), May 21, GNA – Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has commissioned a solid waste recycling plant in Kperisi in the Wa Municipality to help deal with the challenge of solid waste management in the Upper West Region.
The integrated waste recycling and composting facility with the capacity of processing 400 tons of waste per day also has a medical waste treatment plant to serve the medical waste management needs of all health facilities in the region.
It was a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the government of Ghana and the Jospong Group of Companies and was the tenth waste management plant out of 16 plants earmarked by the government to be constructed across the country.
Addressing scores of people, including traditional leaders, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Heads of Departments and Agencies and community folks among others in Wa on Monday to commission the facility, Dr. Bawumia indicated that the commissioning of the facility signified the commitment of President Akuffo-Addo-led government towards improving the sanitation condition of the country.
He explained that the successful completion of the project showed the benefits Ghanaians could derive from effective cooperation and partnership between the government and the private sector.
“The integrated recycling and composting plant facility will serve the purpose of receiving and sorting Municipal and District solid waste from Wa and its neighbouring towns and communities in the Upper West Region.
The waste will be processed using a state-of-the-art processing machine to convert the organic component into compost”, Dr Bawumia explained.
The Vice President explained that the plant had enough capacity to receive waste generated from the entire region thereby serving as a sustainable solution to the waste management challenges in the region.
He indicated that the Medical Waste Treatment facility was also one of the 14 centralised medical waste treatment facilities being established by the Jospong Group of Companies in collaboration with the government and was the fourth facility to be commissioned in the country.
“The centralised medical waste treatment facility will serve the purpose of collecting and treating hazardous components of healthcare waste, which includes used syringes, blood-stained materials, pathological waste, COVID-19 waste, and waste from vaccination exercises.
The ultra-modern microwave treatment equipment has been installed on-site for medical waste treatment with a capacity of an average of 5,000 kilograms of hazardous waste a day”, Dr. Bawumia stated.
The Vice President, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate for the 2024 general election, observed that the facility had the added advantage of recycling the treated waste to attain more value and reduce the waste that went to the landfills.
The medical waste treatment facility has a cold room for waste storage and specialized waste trucks for transporting medical waste from the various healthcare facilities to the treatment site.
Dr. Bawumia said the integrated recycling and compost plant and the medical waste treatment plant would provide over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, ensure a healthy environment, improve the health conditions of inhabitants, improve living conditions of the population, and reduce air, water, and land pollution.
Mr Amidu Chinia Issahaku, the Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, thanked the Jospong Group of Companies for supporting the government in delivering the facility.
He also commended the Upper West Regional Minister and all stakeholders, who contributed to facilitating the successful implementation of the project.
The Deputy Minister also expressed gratitude to the Overlord of the Wala Traditional Area and all persons who played diverse roles in the release of the land for the project.
GNA