A GNA Feature by Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Takoradi, June 16, GNA- A waakye joint at a very busy place in Takoradi, Ghana’s Western Regional, regularly, every morning, serves customers their delicious waakye and jollof with lots of side attractions.
Customers queue anxiously to be fed and freed from being famished from the previous night.
Very few customers carry the food wrapped in natural leaves, as very few sellers or none, are not using natural, biodegradable leaves from trees, as was done hitherto to serve the customers.
With glee, waakye and jollof eaters carry their food in Styrofoam and in polythene to happily exit the queue.
The use of plastics started in the country in the late 1990s, resulting in close to 120 companies manufacturing over 52,000 tonnes of various plastics and plastics products per year.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has announced that from January 2027, the production, importation, sale, distribution and use of Styrofoam takeaway packaging will be prohibited nationwide as part of measures to reduce plastic waste and improve environmental sustainability.
The World Bank indicates Ghana generates about 1.1 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with only about five percent recycled.
The rest clogs the drains, pollutes waterways, litters beaches, landfill sides and fuels floods as well as causing land degradation.
For some businesses, the shift away from plastic is no longer a future possibility but a present reality.
The transition comes at a time when Ghana is preparing to intensify efforts to tackle plastic pollution, a challenge that continues to threaten public health, sanitation and the environment.
The move has reignited conversations about the broader problem of single-use plastics and the alternatives available to businesses and consumers.
Awula Serwaa, an environmental activist, said the country’s growing plastic problem requires urgent action, describing the ban as a step in the right direction.
She noted that plastic waste has become a common feature of gutters, pavements and beaches, while growing evidence suggests that fish, livestock and even humans are increasingly exposed to micro plastics aside flooding.
While the environmental cost of plastics is becoming increasingly clear, some businesses have already begun experimenting with alternatives.
Awula Serwaa believes Ghana can learn from countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi, where restrictions on single-use plastics have been implemented with varying levels of success.
She also sees opportunities for local innovation, suggesting that agricultural waste such as cassava, banana and plantain fibres could be transformed into environmentally friendly packaging materials.
Such innovations, she said, could create jobs while, helping to address pollution.
Mr John Tetteh Kwao, the Head Chef at SSNIT Guest House in Takoradi, said their switch to leaves, earthenware and paper bags had been driven by consumer concerns.
He said: “Our clients began asking for these alternatives and in response, the hotel introduced paper bags and began wrapping foods such as banku, rice balls and kokonte in leaves instead of plastic packaging.
“Traditional earthenware bowls are also used for some meals.”
The changes, he explained, were intended to improve upon customer experience while, reducing dependence on plastic materials.
Although the transition has increased operating costs, Mr Kwao believes the benefits outweigh the challenges… the initiative has helped attract more customers.
“Although the financial burden is there, it has also given us more clients because people appreciate the new way we package our food,” he said.
The experience suggests that environmentally friendly packaging can be both a sustainability measure and a business opportunity.
Consumer response
Sir Job Laboja, a customer who prefers paper packaging, said alternatives to plastic offer a practical way of addressing the country’s waste challenge.
“I prefer paper packaging to plastic bags because it’s good for the environment. It also reduces the plastic waste problem in the country,” he said.
Beyond paper packaging, reusable tote bags are also emerging as a potential alternative to single-use plastic bags.
Tote Bag Alternative.
Mr Allesou, a local artisan into tote bags for individuals, organisations and businesses noted the bags were designed to be used repeatedly, reducing the need for disposable plastic carrier bags that are often discarded after a single use.
Environmental advocates argue that wider adoption of reusable bags could significantly reduce the volume of plastic waste entering the environment.
Cost of Sustainable Alternatives
Cost remains a major concern, particularly for small businesses. Some food vendors feared that environmentally friendly packaging may increase operating expenses and ultimately affect prices for consumers.
Production Capacity is Another Challenge
While local manufacturers such as Mr Allesou were already producing reusable bags, meeting nationwide demand would require greater investment, equipment and labour.
As Ghana moves towards a future with fewer single-use plastics, experiences from businesses already using paper bags, leaves and reusable tote bags suggest that alternatives exist.
The challenge now is ensuring that they are affordable, accessible and widely adopted enough to make a lasting difference.
GNA
Edited by Justina Hilda Paaga/Benjamin Mensah
Writer: Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Writer’s email: [email protected]