By J, K Nabary
Winneba (C/R), Oct 07, GNA-The Kasoa Area Office of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has embarked on an outreach campaign at Winneba to sensitise the public on the proposed ban of styrofoam in the Country in January next year.
As part of the campaign, staff from the Kasoa Area Office and Agona Swedru District Office joined their colleagues in Winneba to embark on a float through the principal streets of Winneba.
The officers had direct shop-to-shop engagements with shop, eateries and supermarket owners, and schooled officers, traders, food vendors, hospitality operators and consumers on the reasons for the ban.
They stressed the need to transition to alternatives such as paper packs, biodegradable food containers and reusable bowl, and later converged at the Winneba main market, with messages against bad environmental practices and on the impending styrofoam ban.
Highlighting on the background of the campaign, the Kasoa Office Area Head of the EPA, Mr Dawood Abass said, the Government of Ghana through the EPA, had announced a nationwide ban on the production, importation, distribution, sale and usage of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam products, commonly known as Styrofoam or ‘takeaway packs’, commencing from January 1, 2027.
According to him, the period leading to January 2027 was designated as a transition period for nationwide stakeholder engagement, public education and technical consultation.
He said, the ban was multifaceted to improve environmental sanitation across the country, protect public health from the hazards associated with Styrofoam use, reduce plastic pollution and its burden on drainage systems, water bodies and coastal ecosystems.
It is also to promote sustainable development through the adoption of reusable, recyclable and eco-friendly alternatives and serve as the first phase of a broader national strategy to eliminate non-biodegradable single-use plastics in Ghana.
The ban will cover food packaging containers, disposable cups and plates, foam packs used by restaurants and chop bars, insulation materials and cushioning materials, but specialised EPS products for medical, scientific, laboratory and diagnostic purposes were exempted, subject to regulatory approval.
According to Mr Abass, health justification for the ban was backed by years of scientific research on styrofoam which was a petroleum-based product made from styrene, a chemical that could leach into food and drinks.
He said anytime heat got in contact with styrofoam, it released harmful chemicals, hence, contact with hot, oily, acidic foods and alcoholic beverages accelerated the release of toxins such as styrene and benzene.
He stated that sanitation and environmental concerns were equally compelling and non-biodegradable, saying Styrofoam does not decompose and could remain in the soil for decades, polluting the environment and reducing soil fertility, drainage blockage and flooding.
Mr Abass indicated that improperly disposed takeaway packs were a major contributor to clogged drains, gutters, rivers and lagoons, contributing directly to perennial flooding in urban areas, including Winneba.
He said, large quantities of Marine and Coastal pollution end up on beaches and in the sea, and fishermen regularly harvest plastics and Styrofoam while on fishing expeditions, thus affecting fish catch, livelihoods, and threatening marine life ingesting the foam.
“Accumulated Styrofoam waste in drains serves as breeding grounds for disease vectors and carriers of disease, worsening public sanitation challenges.
“Styrofoam is lightweight and easily littered, increasing the cost of waste collection and landfill management and undermining efforts under the National Plastics Management Policy and the revised Solid Waste Management Strategy targeting 60 percent reduction in landfill plastics,” Mr Abass added.
He therefore called all Effutu residents, particularly traders, eateries, shoppers and residents to embrace the ban and adopt eco-friendly alternatives for a cleaner and healthier Effutuman.
“The exercise demonstrates our commitment to public education and stakeholder engagement ahead of enforcement of the ban, we express our appreciation to the Effutu Municipal Assembly, the market leadership and the general public for their cooperation and assure our continuous engagement towards a smooth transition and environmentally friendly alternatives,” he added.
Rev Atta Mensah, Effutu Municipal Chief Executive who graced the event, commended the Chief Executive Officer of EPA, Prof Nana Ama Browne Klutse, for the national campaign on the ban following Presidential Directive announced during the 2025 World Environment Day celebrations.
He also thanked the Kasoa Area Head of EPA and the staff for their impressive outreach campaigning at creating awareness on the ban and schooling the citizenry against bad environmental practices.
He called on everyone to prepare themselves adequately for the ban, strictly obey and also change their attitude towards the environment.
Later in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, many traders expressed concern about cost of eco-friendly alternatives and called for government support to reduce the cost of the alternatives.
Some members of the public called for the ban to be extended to cover other single-use plastics such as polythene bags and sachet water plastics and urged the market leadership and the Assembly to support continuous education and enforcement when rolled out.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey