By Divine Mawuli Akwensivie (PhD, MCIM), ATU Business School
[email protected]
Accra, May 29, GNA – The recent news report by media house, announcing the Environmental Protection Authority’s planned ban on polystyrene takeaway packs effective January 2027 has rightly generated national discussion.
The decision deserves commendation because it reflects a bold and necessary commitment toward environmental protection, public health, and sustainable waste management.
For decades, Styrofoam and plastic waste have remained among the leading contributors to clogged drains, urban flooding, polluted beaches, and environmental degradation across Ghana.
Every rainy season, the consequences become painfully visible as plastic-choked waterways worsen flooding in major cities, particularly in Accra. The EPA’s move therefore represents more than a regulatory action; it is a long-overdue environmental intervention.
Yet while many Ghanaians are celebrating the announcement, history should guide both policymakers and citizens.
This is not the first time Ghana has attempted to tackle harmful plastic and polystyrene pollution.
During the first administration of President John Dramani Mahama, then Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology Mr Mahama Ayariga championed similar environmental reforms aimed at reducing plastic pollution.
Following the devastating June 3 floods and disaster in Accra in 2015, the government intensified discussions around plastics management. Mr Mahama Ayariga publicly announced restrictions on low-micron plastics and outlined measures to regulate environmentally harmful packaging materials.
Reports at the time indicated that Ghana had moved to ban plastics below 20 microns because of their destructive impact on drainage systems and the environment.
The policy direction included plans to tighten EPA enforcement, encourage biodegradable alternatives, increase the thickness of plastics for easier recycling, and engage manufacturers on sustainable production practices.
Those reforms generated national attention and raised hopes that Ghana was finally prepared to confront its growing plastic waste crisis seriously.
Unfortunately, after Mr. Mahama Ayariga was moved from the Environment Ministry, the momentum behind those environmental reforms gradually weakened. The policy drives lost urgency, implementation slowed, and eventually the conversation faded from the national spotlight.
That experience offers an important lesson for the current administration.
As the EPA works toward the January 2027 implementation date, Ghanaians will be hoping that political arm-twisting, lobbying pressure, bureaucratic resistance, or changes in political priorities will not once again delay or dilute the policy.
Environmental reforms often suffer when powerful commercial interests push back against regulations that threaten established business models.
This time, consistency and political will must prevail. The challenge before Ghana is no longer policy imagination, but policy continuity. Encouragingly, the current policy direction under President Mahama appears to revive unfinished environmental reforms from his earlier administration. That continuity should be welcomed. However, announcements alone will not solve Ghana’s plastic pollution crisis.
Enforcement, public education, industry transition support, and political commitment will determine whether this policy succeeds or joins the list of abandoned reforms.
At the same time, the ban presents enormous opportunities for innovation and local enterprise. Ghanaian entrepreneurs, researchers, and manufacturers should begin developing affordable biodegradable alternatives using locally available materials such as cassava starch, bamboo fiber, coconut husk, recycled paper, sugarcane waste, and plantain fibers.
This transition could create jobs, stimulate green manufacturing, support local agriculture, and position Ghana as a leader in sustainable packaging innovation within West Africa.
Government support will nevertheless remain essential. Food vendors, small businesses, and manufacturers will need practical assistance, incentives, and affordable alternatives to adapt smoothly before the 2027 deadline. Ultimately, the EPA deserves praise for reviving an environmental agenda that Ghana should have fully implemented years ago. But history has already shown that good environmental policies can easily collapse without sustained political backing.
But this time, the country must move beyond announcements. The implementation must happen fully and on schedule.
If properly managed, this transition can create jobs, stimulate local production, reduce imports, and position Ghana as a leader in sustainable packaging innovation within West Africa. January 2027 must therefore become a genuine turning point and not another postponed environmental promise.
History should guide us this time.
GNA
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong