RAMAPLAST, a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, which recycles and utilises plastic waste for the production of quality bags for school children is expected to provide over 20,000 jobs for Ghanaian youth.

Ms Awurama Kena-Asiedu, a 25-year-old social entrepreneur and graduate of the University of Ghana, was the brainchild of the initiative, which is aimed at curbing rural-urban migration through regional industrialisation drive and wealth creation.

Ms Kena-Asiedu told the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday that, production of plastic waste bags involved collection, segregation and cleaning of plastic waste before being sewed into final products.

She believed that the project would help solve youth unemployment in the country if only young people avail themselves for training and engagement in the business.

“The project will re-use plastic waste which, otherwise, would have choked up sewage outlets, leading to flooding and sometimes loss of lives in extreme situations.

“We have witnessed plastic waste, over the years, swallowing up the entire community and leaving animals and men in ruins, with government persistently battling the pollutants,” she observed.

Ms Kena-Asiedu was of the conviction that the initiative was the right step towards halting the menace of plastic waste in the national capital, Accra, and across the 16 regions.

She has projected to supply 716,300 students with bags made from plastic waste by 2023, and believed that, the country’s industrialization drive heavily depended on the youth, who are the future leaders.

She expressed the intention to create eco-friendly clubs in schools across the country and engage in community durbars, to educate and sensitise Ghanaians on proper plastic waste disposal and how they could earn income from the business.

She explained that the initiative was in tandem with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6 and 13), which calls for clean water and sanitation as well as a positive climate action.

She underscored the need for all well-meaning Ghanaians to be agent of change by making conscious effort to promote sound environmental practices.