Somochem, a leading chemical and polymer distribution company in Ghana, and its parent business, the Mohinani Group, have pledged to sustainably address the threats of plastic waste in Ghana and the subregion.

The Group made this commitment when its senior leadership and some staff, along with volunteers from the Coastal Conservancy Organization, embarked on a plastic waste collection exercise at the MPS Terminal 3 beach in Tema on Saturday, December 2nd.

Addressing the participants, a senior manager of the Group, Girender Mohinani, indicated that the exercise was part of a broader program to intensify awareness about the numerous benefits of plastic waste recycling, asserting that “as an organization, we are committed to keep playing our parts to help solve the problems associated with plastics.”

This assertion follows the Group’s investment of over thirty million dollars ($30 million) in two closed-loop recycling plants to produce food-grade rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) of European standards in both Ghana and Nigeria earlier this year.

The bottle-to-bottle recycling factory, which has begun operations, is the first of its kind in Ghana and, perhaps, one of the most significant facilities in the sub-region, with the potential to recycle approximately fifteen thousand (15,000) metric tons of plastic per year, with a combined capacity of (30,000) metric tons including the Nigeria plant.

Meanwhile, Anil Mohinani, the Group's head of new projects, has intimated that while efforts are being made to combat the plastic menace, stakeholders in the plastic industry, including NGOs in the sector, must also help educate the public in order to improve plastic waste collection and sorting.

Mr. Anil believes that educating the people on the importance of segregating the various plastics they use and categorizing them based on their colors would aid in the recycling process and assist deal with the negative aspects of plastics.