Creating Value from Plastic Waste

The project aimed to professionalise the informal waste collectors and to strengthen cooperation with the plastics and recycling industry in Ghana with a view to increasing the amount of plastic waste collected and to boost income opportunities for waste collectors.

The project was helping to develop an environmentally sustainable circular economy in Ghana that preserves natural resources and thus helps to achieve several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are: sustainable economic growth and decent work for all (SDG 8), as well as protecting ecosystems and biodiversity on land (SDG 15) and in the seas (SDG 14).

The project built on the positive experiences of cooperating with waste collectors in the informal sector and brought companies from Ghana’s plastics industry on board. The following measures were implemented:

International stakeholder forum
A stakeholder forum entitled ‘Sustainable Management of Plastics along the Value Chain – From challenges to joint action’ took place in Accra on 8 November 2019 as part of the West African Clean Energy & Environment Trade Fair & Conference 2019. The event gave the approximately 100 participants from companies in the plastics and recycling sector, local authorities and civil society from Ghana the opportunity to learn about the national plastic strategy adopted by Ghana’s Ministry of Environment. They were also able to talk to professionals from NRW who had experience of dealing with plastic packaging in Germany.

Professionalising collection
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken their toll on this measure. The drop in plastic prices in particular has created difficulties. Nonetheless, progress has been made in the collection of plastic waste in Kumasi and neighbouring Asokore Mampong in cooperation with various actors. The measure has led to greater professionalism among the informal waste collectors in Kumasi and has also trained collectors in Asokore Mampong. In addition, a dialogue was initiated between the municipal administrations and the informal waste collectors, with initial steps being taken to integrate the informal collectors into municipal waste collection. With support from the municipal administrations and the local private sector, two collection points for plastic waste were set up in the two municipalities and operated as part of a pilot project. During the project term, more than 40 tonnes of PET were collected at these collection points, thus creating additional income for the waste collectors.

Extended producer responsibility
If the tide of plastic is to be stemmed, the companies in Ghana’s plastics and food industries also need to take responsibility. There are various models from elsewhere in the world for this. The project advised the Ghanaian Government on how to introduce relevant models of extended producer responsibility for plastic waste management and which actors to involve in this process. Four advisory workshops were held on this topic and a recommendation for introducing a system of extended producer responsibility in Ghana was submitted to the Ghanaian Ministry of Environment, which is responsible for this area.

Plastics Recycling World Exhibition 2021
Ten representatives of Ghana’s plastics and recycling industry took part in the Plastics Recycling World Exhibition 2021 in Essen with their own stand and contribution to the conference programme. The trade fair offered the partners from Ghana the opportunity to familiarise themselves with innovative technical solutions in plastics recycling and make new business contacts. Following the exhibition, they also had the chance to visit companies in NRW for a more in-depth look at their operations.