The Environment and Sanitation Office in Upper East Region has started plans to tackle the solid waste menace in the region this year.

Under the new vision, the Environmental health and sanitation outfit would increase sensitization in communities on household solid waste management, enhance communal picking of waste and provision of litter bins to help control indiscriminate dumping of rubbish.

Mr Juventus Asangyuure, Assistant Regional Environmental health and sanitation officer, who disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga said his outfit was poised to collaborate with stakeholders in reducing plastic pollution and improve sanitation in the region.

Meanwhile last year, President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo–Addo, in collaboration with Zoomlion Ghana, cut sod for a waste treatment plant in Sherigu in the Upper East Region in line with government’s efforts at creating enabling environment for the private sector to partner government to bridge the infrastructure gap in sanitation.

According to Mr Asangyuure, his outfit to that effect was in discussion with Zoom lion Ghana in the region to earmark areas to be engineered into landfill sites to ensure proper waste disposal.

Responding to progress made to ensure all communities stopped open defecation, he said most activities in the past concentrated on Open defecation (OD) and ensuring communities moved to become ODF, but worked less in sensitizing communities on solid waste control.

However, he indicated that though strides were made in the region to address Open Defecation, he stated that additional 100 communities would soon be triggered in the region this year.

Mr Asangyuure lamented that funding dedicated to helping maintain and monitor ODF communities was inadequate and blamed the inability of his outfit to follow up and monitor ODF communities to funding challenges and urged the District Assemblies to increase fund allocation for such monitoring activities.

He advised communities that had attained Open Defecation Free status to remain so and stay healthy whilst encouraging neighbouring communities to avoid open defecation.