By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, (Bono), Sept. 21, GNA-Ghanaians have been urged to contribute towards addressing plastic pollution and growing threats of illegal mining, as the nation joins the rest of the globe to mark the 2026 World Cleanup Day (WCD).
As the world prepares to mark the Day September 20, 2026, some civil society organisations called on the nation to move the conversation beyond sweeping the street, and collecting plastic waste recycling and protection of water bodies.
Observed annually, the WCD observed was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as an international day to promote collective action for a cleaner and healthier environment.
The 2026 celebration is on the theme: “From clean plates to clean cities”.
A statement issued by the Africa Hub to End Plastic Pollution (AHEP), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to mark the Day, noted that keeping Ghana clean requires collective responsibility.
“The government alone can’t shoulder that responsibility and so civil society organizations, traditional authorities, businesses, young people and individuals ought to take responsibility for the environment we all shared”, it stated.
AHEP issued the statement through the AHEP-Ghana Coalition and Help for Africa Women Alliance (HAWA) and the Centre of Posterity Interest Organization (COPIO), the coordinating organization and signed by Mr Mustapha M Yeboah, its West Africa Regional Coordinator.
A copy of the statement made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, called on Ghanaians to contribute to strengthening public participation towards efforts to tackle plastic pollution and protecting water bodies.
“In fact, our rivers are becoming refuse dumping grounds”, it stated, worrying that pollution enters water bodies through poorly managed waste, untreated wastewater, agricultural activities, industrial discharges, excessive sedimentation and mining.
The statement indicated that illegal mining threatened river systems, saying that: “Recent work by the Water Resources Commission has drawn attention to severe degradation in parts of the White Volta Basin, including sedimentation and the loss of riparian vegetation”.
It said that: “The commission has reported that about 6,000 cubic meters of sand are mined daily from the White Volta, while more than half of its riparian vegetation has reportedly been lost over a 26-year period”.
The statement said those developments should make river protection an important part of the celebration of the 2026 WCD in the country.
It noted that involvement of civil society in tackling plastic pollution and illegal mining remained important because the challenge extended beyond the collection of plastic waste.
The statement indicated that “It requires sustained public education, community participation, responsible waste management and collective action to protect water bodies from the multiple threats confronting them”.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
Email: [email protected]