Recycling Is Not The Answer To Fighting Plastic Pollution Problem

Mr Antoine Rougier, Country Coordinator for the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has advocated a comprehensive educational programmes to get people to change their behaviour on plastic use.

According to him, the country, must focus on attitudinal change to get people to reduce the use of plastics to the barest minimum and make recycling the last resort.

Mr Rougier made the suggestion in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) when the EJF in collaboration with ATL FM and Danis Foundation embarked on a beach clean-up exercise along the Bakaano - OLA beach stretch in Cape Coast to mark this year's World Beach Clean-up Day.

'There is a lot of work to do with education and changing the behaviour for people to say no to plastics and this is the way to start'.

Mr Rougier said scientists have predicted that if action was not taken, there would be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 and called for increased and collaborative efforts to limit the production and use of plastic.

He noted that the menace was abating in some parts of the World where some plastics had been banned and encouraged the Government of Ghana to adopt similar measures to deal with the problem.

Mr Charles Smith, Communications Officer for EJF stressed the need to keep the beaches clean and called on Ghanaians to develop the habit of using few plastics.

He urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies along the coast to ensure that their beach front were clean and serene adding that 'If we do not take care of our beaches, we will end up losing much revenue'.

Mr Smith further encouraged the coastal communities to form community watchdogs to watch over their beaches to ensure that people do not dump refuse at the beaches.

GNA
By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA