The African Institute of Sanitation and Waste Management (AISWaM) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science of Technology (KNUST) is to partner the Universal Plastic Products Recycling (UPPR), a private plastic recycling company.

The partnership, which is to promote plastic recycling awareness in Ghana, will also promote training and research that provides new insights into locally-appropriate approaches to plastic waste recycling.

A statement signed by Dr Offei Bob Manteaw, Director of Research, Innovation and Development AISWaM and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said the institute as part of the partnership, indicated its readiness to use its expertise and its state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities to The Buy-Back-Centers that will set up nationwide.

According to the statement, the institute will offer money for the collection of plastic waste and will serve as avenues for behavioral and attitudinal changes towards plastic waste management.

It said people will begin to appreciate the economic value in plastic waste and will have reasons and incentives to collect, store and sell the waste they generated, adding, “It will also serve as employment opportunity for many people, especially the youth.”

The statement said Professor Ernest Yanful, Provost of AISWaM notes that Ghana is faced with waste crisis which needs urgent and innovative responses from all sectors of our societies adding that, “plastic waste has become pervasive, social and ecological nuisance, and a real menace that is threatening not only our environment, but also public safety and health.

“The initiative will not only improve sanitation in our communities but will also bring sanity to the economy.” It said the ample evidence of the dangers of improper waste management in Ghanaian communities, particularly urban communities is associated with the floods recorded in parts of Accra and elsewhere in the country.

The statement said the indiscriminate disposal of waste clogs the waterways and contributes to the kinds of disastrous floods we see in our urban communities and their attendant threats to human health and ecosystems.”

According to the statement the floods will become even more frequent and extreme due to current climate change projections and will likely also result in more disasters if measures are not taken to manage waste properly in our communities.

It said the initiative is a step towards helping to mitigate the challenges and to ensure improved sanitation in our communities through the collective efforts of the AISWaM and the UPPR. The statement said people will begin to appreciate the value of waste while they adopt new attitudes and behaviors towards the handling of waste both in households and in communities.

It said the initiative is a major incentive for behavioral and attitudinal change which will also usher in a new culture of waste management in the country and to help institutionalize a culture of value addition to waste and enhanced sanitation in our communities.