The Chief Executive Officer of Asadu Royal Waste Management, a leading Waste Management Firm in Ghana has called on government to halt all forms of Sachet production in the country.
According to him, apart from the fact that the chemicals used in manufacturing these sachet materials capable of having adverse health implication on the health humans, the waste it creates would have a long-term effect on country.
According to him, a greater chunk of our waste is made up of plastic waste and having managed waste over a decade, he knows its effect on the soil.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with this reporter, Mr. Asadu revealed that our land’s fertility would be greatly affected if we continue producing sachet products in the volumes in which they are produced
He noted that even though sachet products are not the only forms of plastic, it constitute over 70% of our plastic waste and the only way of first reducing our waste is to discourage the production of these products and rather advocate for other forms of packaging that are more environmentally friendly.
He stated that research has revealed that when one sachet product stuck in the soil, it takes over Fifty Years to decompose.
Apart from littering the environment, the chemicals used in the production of the rubber material militates against the fertility of the soil.
He revealed that given the width of the circulation of sachet water, commonly referred to as pure water; the rate of sachet usage and the quantity of sachet water rubber that finds its way into the soil, domestic food production will suffer unbearable decline few decades to come if the right measures are not put in place.
He said, “It will amaze you that even in the remotest of areas in this country, where you cannot find a single mobile network, radio and TV reception, there’s a high rate of consumption of pure water, yoghurt, fanmilk and other forms of product that are packaged with sachet rubber"
He continued, ‘This simply means that the entire nation consumes sachet-packaged products and therefore its spread and destruction of the soil’s fertility will not only be limited to the industrial areas but to our bread basket- the interior.”
When quizzed if recycling wouldn’t be the best solution, he noted that over the years, successive government have not shown enough commitment to the idea of waste recycling and the private person, without the support of government will struggle to pull resources to finance the cost of setting up one which has the capacity to meet the rate of plastic waste generation in the country.
He further added that though a lot of effort has been made to get government to invest in plastic waste management companies in the country, very little has been done so far.
“Over ten years of establishing this company, it would amaze you to know that we have not been able to access a penny of the sanitation fund”
According to him, the lack of transparency in the disbursement of the fund is the reason the country is making very little process in the area of waste management.
He therefore called on government to show greater commitment to the eradication of filth in Ghana by helping private organization that have taken it upon themselves to make this dream a reality.