Plastics pollution: Awareness, initiatives and looming UN ban

Irwin Allotey, London, UK
Frebruray 26, 2023

In early 2021, a small group of young Ghanaians¹, started a coalition against plastic pollution. This environmental hazard consists in the harmful accumulation of synthetic plastic products in the including in the air, land and oceans. The founders called the initiative the GYEM (Ghana Youth Environmental Movement). The GYEM wants to mobilize Ghanaians against single-use plastics (SUPs). On social media, they use the hashtag #BanSingleUseGh to call for legislation on single-use plastics (SUPs). GYEM approached the government to ask for a ban on, and enforcement measures against SUPs. It also recommended investments in research and development of sustainable alternatives. These young people are not alone. Plastic pollution is a concern for civil society, public institutions, multilateral and bilateral donors.

At the international level, the United Nations Environment Program convened in November 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The UNEP committed to delivering a legally binding agreement on plastics pollution by the end of 2024.

Pollution trajectory

Colorful plastic bags of different shapes and sizes are a ubiquitous sign of modern pollution in large cities in Ghana. Plastics obstruct sewage, drainage systems, and waterways, which lead to disastrous floods every year. Plastics particles intoxicate and kill wildlife while representing a risk to human health. They are present in rivers, beaches and even above ground, wrapped around tree branches.

Plastic pollution is increasing at a fast pace. Ghana collects 49 percent of plastic waste and recycles 25 percent. The rest appears in open land (26 percent) and in improvised sites (23 percent). Open burning accounts for 17 percent, while 9 percent leaks into water bodies. Civil society organizations sound the alarm at every forum. A 2021 report by the Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership warned that ‟if the country maintains the current collection and treatment rates, plastic leakage will increase by 190 percent by 2040 ”².

A 2024 report by the Office Auditor General found that ‟Ghana generates approximately 840,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually, and approximately 9.5 percent of what is collected is recycled while the rest is indiscriminately disposed of without regard to the environmental impact”. The report also found that a significant portion of generated used plastics is indiscriminately disposed of through littering, dumping in drains, and uncontrolled burning, contributing to environmental degradation and flooding³.

Economics of plastics in Ghana

In 2022, plastics form 16 percent of municipal solid waste⁴. As an economic value chain, the World Bank⁵ estimates that from 1996 to 2010, local plastics manufacturing grew from 20 companies to 895. They employed 147,410 people, mostly in the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area⁶. The plastics value-chain includes imports, manufacture of semi-finished and finished goods. It also includes retail, waste generation, waste management, plastics collection, recycling, and exports.

The country imports resin, virgin pellets, ethylene polymers, and other composites. Plastics also enter the country through the imports of second-hand goods. In parallel, the domestic plastic manufacturers produce semi-finished goods. In 2019, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) said Ghana produces over 27,000 million tons per annum of flexible packaging for domestic consumption. That year, the country also imported 120,000 MT of plastic films⁷. Domestic beverage companies produce 68,000 million tons of Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle annually. In 2021, Ghana exported plastic pipes for a value of US$18.3 million to neighboring countries.

Awareness

Over the past two decades, awareness about the dangers of plastics has grown across every strata of the population. From 2004, a scheme to monetize the collection of plastic gained popularity. Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) emerged. Private sector plastic manufacturers joined the program by buying and recycling plastic bottle for reuse. This created a growing market for collectors and recyclers. In 2006, plastic collectors formed an association called PWCA (Plastic waste collector's association of Ghana). In 2016, PWCA had 28,000 collectors nationwide, who signed supply and purchase agreements with 30 domestic plastic manufacturing companies.

One year later, in 2017, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) formed the GRIPE (Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprises). Their initiative was slow on the uptake, prompting the government to introduce an environmental tax (2012- Act 840) which placed a 10 percent tax on plastic imports. The goal of the tax was to fund plastic waste management. The PMA also introduced innovative technologies to make plastics biodegradable over a stint of time. Five additional manufacturer lobby groups have joined the race against plastics pollution.

The government of Ghana has promulgated laws and implemted programs to manage plastic waste effectively. The country banned plastic production and imports in 2008 and then established the Plastic Waste Recycling Fund in 2011. It introduced a levy of 10 percent called Environmental Excise Tax on imported plastics and related items. The goal of this tax was to discourage the use of plastics. This measure had a limited impact on the demand, supply and used of plastics.

In addition to legislations, the government is capitalizing on awareness. In 2020, it developed a national plastics management policy (NPMP) and a national plastic action partnership (NPAP) in 2021. These initiatives seek to mobilize and harmonize the actions of stakeholders around a roadmap for a radical reduction of plastic pollution. They also want to limit potential conflicting interests amongst the different conservation groups. At the international level, Ghana joined the GPAP (Global Plastic Action Partnership) in 2019. GPAP is a public-private platform dedicated to combatting plastic pollution. The Ministry of environment leads the GPAP project in Ghana through the development and implementation of a national roadmap.

Case for a ban of single-use plastics

Ghana produces and consumes more plastics than it recycles. The government wants to reduce the gap by reducing ‟avoidable plastics”. These include ‟single-use plastics and thin-film carrier bags, and sachets”. This, the government explains ranks amongst the country's ‟highest priority”⁸. But industry associations think that a blanket ban plastics, will destroy an entire industry and jobs. They argue that in certain manufacturing businesses such as bottled potable water, plastic bottles actually protect the population against waterborne diseases.

However, successful examples of total plastic ban exists in peer African countries. According to Greenpeace⁹, 34 African countries have implemented a ban on single-use plastics. Countries that enforced the ban, updated and adjusted policies recorded a decrease in single-use plastics. The case of Rwanda is worth discussing. In 2008, the Rwandan Government banned polyethylene bags. The ban applies to the production, use, importation, and sale. Businesses changed to using paper and other sustainable bags. Those who violate the law, especially smugglers of plastic bags into Rwanda from neighboring countries, face heavy fines or even jail time. Border patrols search at airports and confiscate plastic bags. In January 2019, Rwanda drafted a new law seeking to prohibit plastic water bottles, disposables straws, plates, spoons, and tumblers. At the level of the communities, the last Saturday of every month is neighborhood clean-up day for every citizen of Rwanda. Today, the streets in Kigali and cities across the country are free of litter and specifically of plastics. In 2008 UN-Habitat named Kigali the cleanest city in Africa¹⁰.

Outside of the continent

Major trading communities are implementing bans on SUPs. The European Union banned SUPs in January 2021. Other EU countries are placing even more restrictions on plastics that do not contain at least 30 percent recycled content. At the moment, these measures apply to EU countries only. But in the future, the EU may impose the ban on trading partners such as Ghana.

The world is gravitating towards an international binding treaty on plastics. A strong signal came from the United Nations. In March 2022, the multilateral organization adopted a resolution appears to prepare the world for a ban. On December 2022, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, gave another hints. In a public statement during the conclusion of a 14-day visit to Ghana, he said that ‟Ghana should consider banning single-use plastics, reducing volumes of production and establishing extended producer responsibility schemes”¹¹. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a binding instrument or treaty is achievable by the end of 2024¹².

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