Ghana Youth Environmental Movement (GYEM), a youth-led environmental policy advocacy has organized a two-day sensitization durbar at the Kaneshie Market and Tema Station in Accra to campaign against Single-Use Plastics (SUPs).

The first durbar was held at the Kanehsie Market on Friday, November 24th, 2023, followed by the one at the Tema Station on Saturday, November 25th, 2023, with all targeting market vendors and drivers.

As part of the sensitization durbar, a clean-up exercise was held in the two locations with the market vendors and the drivers.

The Campaign Lead of GYEM, Samuel Boadu Duah told ghenvironment.com in an interview that, its main objective is to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of single-use plastics and promote sustainable alternatives.

He said, SUPs throughout their life cycle are a scourge to the environment and pose serious risks to both biodiversity and public health, adding that, they are also environmental hazards that increase flood risks in the communities, towns and cities.

“And so we are finding ways and means of correcting this wrong we have been doing over the years. And we are simply telling people who patronize single-use plastic that, we cannot allow the old thing to go on like that”, he said.

According to him, the government in a recent budget statement has imposed taxes on some plastic products, an admission that, there is something wrong with plastics that needs to be corrected and drastic measures are needed in that regard.

“So one of the proposals we are making is for some single-use plastics to be banned for us to adopt other alternatives. So in this campaign, we are sensitizing market women and all those who patronize those plastics to adopt the other alternatives. The harm is too much and it affects all of us, go to the beaches that is where our plastics end up, our drains are choked when it rains, our markets and homes get flooded”, he added.

Providing alternatives to some of the single-use plastics such as polythene bags, Duah suggested the remolding of old fabrics and clothes to be used as bags or something they can carry along to the market. This alternative, he said, will be cheap to buy and can help create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth after taking them through how to remold old fabrics into bags.

As part of the sensitization durbar, some market vendors, drivers and their mates were taken through the process of remolding old fabrics into bags. In partnership with Reusable Bags GH, reusable bags were produced and shared to some of the traders.

Mrs Angelica Dandzo, Assistant Programme Office r at the EPA commended GYEM for the Single Plastic Use campaign.

She said the single-use plastics are not easily degradable causing harm to the environment.

She said the EPA has embarked on a campaign of the 4Rs which is reduce, re-use, recycle, and resale.

“So we say we should reduce the use of these plastics, we should re-use, that is going in for alternatives, recycling plastic products like turning them into pavement blocks and many other products and the resale of broken-down plastic products such as chairs, tables to plastic recycling companies that need it as raw materials”, she said.