The Coordinator of Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwah, has renewed calls for the Government to ban single-use plastics, arguing that Ghana’s recurring flooding and mounting waste management challenges cannot be solved without bold policy action.
Her appeal follows the heavy rains of June 29, which caused extensive flooding across Accra and parts of the Greater Accra Region, once again drawing attention to the impact of poor waste disposal and choked drainage systems.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Monday, July 6, Awula Serwah said Ghana’s current waste management system lacks the capacity and infrastructure to effectively manage the increasing volume of waste generated, particularly in urban centres.
According to her, single-use plastics constitute a significant portion of the waste found in drains and waterways, making them a major contributor to flooding during heavy rainfall.
“Eco-Conscious Citizens and others have asked for the ban on single-use plastics. If you look at our gutters and a lot of the waste, about 80% is single-use plastics. We don’t need them, we can do without them. We need the political will to ban single-use plastics,” she stated.
Awula Serwah stressed that tackling Ghana’s sanitation crisis requires more than routine waste collection. She said the country must adopt sustainable waste management practices that prioritize waste segregation, recycling and reducing dependence on landfill sites.
“We need to do something about our waste management system, but we also need to do basic things like segregating our rubbish and making sure, for example, that plastics are recycled and put to other use rather than taking them to landfill sites, which are already getting full,” she added.
She maintained that effective environmental management will require strong political commitment, public education and stricter enforcement of environmental policies to reduce plastic pollution and protect the country’s drainage systems.
Environmental advocates have repeatedly warned that without urgent reforms, including restrictions on single-use plastics and improved recycling systems, Ghana will continue to experience flooding exacerbated by plastic waste blocking drains and waterways.