Nestle, a Nutrition Health and Wellness Company, through its Research and Development Centre hopes to come up with packages that are 100 per cent recyclable as part of solution plastic menace.

This move is a long-term goal of the company, but currently, it has succeeded in eliminating single-use plastics at its offices by prohibiting the use of plastic cutlery, straws, and disposable cups.

As a medium term, it is working to reduce the plastic that is used in packaging products such as reducing the thickness bearing in mind the safety of the product.

Mrs Philomena Tan, the Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana said this during a beach clean-up activity by the staff of Nestlé in Ghana in commemoration of the 2019 World Oceans Day at the weekend in Accra.

This activity is part of Nestlé’s Volunteering programme known as “Nestlé Cares” and commitment to help protect the environment.

We celebrate World Oceans Day, as a day set aside by the United Nations to remind everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life and to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, unite everyone towards sustainable management of the oceans.

Mrs Tan stated that nationally, the company was working in tandem with the Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprises, an industry-led coalition committed to sustainable waste management solutions, particularly around plastics.

The strategies being explored by the group, she mentioned included; behavioural change campaign, plastic reuse innovations and exploring recycling options.

Mrs Tan said measures by the company aimed at raiding the ocean of plastics were important the ocean was a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere.

Mr John A Pwamang, Acting Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana, in a statement delivered on his behalf said oceans were responsible for 70 per cent of the primary source of oxygen on the planet and regulated the climate by soaking up the heat and transported warm water from the equator to the poles, and cold water from the poles to the tropics.

Citing statistics from the Food Agriculture Organisation, he said the ocean that the livelihood of about 59.6 million people in the world depended on the oceans and aquaculture.

In recent past, he said humans through their various activities continued to pollute the ocean with plastics and urged the public to be responsible and dispose of plastics properly as a commitment to ensuring ocean free plastics to protect marine lives.

Mr Pwamang said government recognised that plastics, were a source of wealth and was working with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy that would deal with the plastic menace.

Already, the government was working to ensure that solid and liquid effluent from industries was treated before it was discharged into aquatic bodies.