How the Zoomlion Accra Waste Recovery Facility Solves the Waste Threat in Ghana | Characteristics

West Africa's waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, has taken a strategic step to eliminate the waste threat by building a multipurpose building called the Accra Waste Recovery Park located in the heart of the old city. Fadama.

Speaking at an installation commissioning ceremony, Jospong Group Chairman JGC and owner of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Joseph Siaw Agyepong, dispelled any skeptics as to the possibility that its facility is a waste management center where the waste will be transformed into usable materials.

In an interview, he explained that this waste management center is equipped with dedicated units that will recycle scrap metal into usable metals, tires of damaged vehicles into new tires, PET bottles and plastics in general into pellets, garbage cans and garbage bags. collection of waste, broken or unusable glbadware used in construction, etc., organic waste composting fertilizer for farmers, which will ultimately reduce our excessive dependence on imported fertilizers.

According to him, existing data from scientific research shows that Ghana was not ready for the separation of sources – pointing out that Ghana was slowly moving away from the tradition of random waste disposal for understand why these wastes needed to be disposed of properly, hence the decision to distribute a million wastes nationwide. garbage cans to various households to encourage waste collection. The responsible waste contractor thinks that a child should be allowed to crawl before walking. Therefore, Ghanaians can not simply be forced to separate their sources if they do not initially understand why they should properly dispose of their garbage in the trash.

Since 2006, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has carried out a number of interventions in the waste management and environmental remediation industry, introducing and constructing multiple equipment and plants to help reduce the many submerged waste communities.

For example, the company introduced the manual tricycle and motorized tricycles on what are known unofficially as "borla taxis", dump trucks, compaction trucks, mechanized street sweepers, plastic recycling and organic composting facilities such as the Accra composting and recycling plant and the Kumasi plant A 90% completed composting and recycling plant (ACARP and KCARP), a plant vehicle badembly (VAP) which badembles trucks and waste treatment equipment, a wastewater treatment plant that has solved a century-old problem of mud-water discharge in the sea at Lavender Hill in Accra, the introduction of Zoom Domestic Services – a subsidiary dedicated to the needs of household waste management and the construction of Zoompacks in Teshie and Achimota to reduce travel time for waste disposal.

The company is now convinced that among all these interventions, it was necessary to have a single park where all waste is recycled, hence the introduction of this park. This facility will not only solve the waste problems in Accra, but will be replicated in the future. sixteen regions. The Executive Chairman ensures that similar facilities will be commissioned in Tema, Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale by the end of August this year.

This seems to be good news for people who have lamented over the years about the loss of control over our waste situation, especially plastic waste.

The decision to create AWARP confirms the company's consolidated commitment, which ranges from waste management in Ghana to recycling in order to value the waste generated in the country and create jobs, among others.

It will be remembered that a Daily Graphic publication last week entitled "Ghana is facing a disaster". has decried the regrettable flood of our cities and our water plans with PET bottles produced in Ghana, while others are imported daily.

The document recalls that a 10% deduction levied on plastic product manufacturers had brought back one billion flowers to Ghana in the consolidated fund.

In addition to PPM President and ESPA Executive Secretary who suggested solutions to the problem in separate interviews, the paper regretted that the Minister of the Environment could not comment the question because the policy was under review in Cabinet.

The investigations conducted by this author revealed the existence of an Indian union that was trying to find its place in the arms of the government in order to find funding for the construction of a bottle recycling plant in India. PET here in Ghana. The government is split between banning plastics and urging MMDAs to enforce enforcement regulations to ensure that the plastic threat is under control.

Mr. Agyepong, a Ghanaian entrepreneur, has taken the initiative to convert PET bottles into pellets, which are used to make garbage cans and garbage bags for waste collection.

Indeed, it is commendable that what was considered impossible in the country has arrived.

The first questions to ask are whether the government will ban plastics from putting many Ghanaian plastic producers and their workers out of work, such as in the banking sector, or it will develop a viable policy guaranteeing that plastics are managed appropriately. to pave the way for our waterways, culverts, parks and streets by providing the necessary financing to companies such as Zoomlion Ghana, which build these versatile composting and recycling plants with a capacity of 400 tonnes in the 16 regional capitals waste to compost.

In addition, should the government give money to an Indian entrepreneur to build such a factory and leave the junior jobs to Ghanaians while the management jobs are occupied by foreigners?

When such a decision is made, the government must show determination and prioritize the Ghanaian entrepreneurs with the capacity demonstrated by Zoomlion, while avoiding to marginalize the premises to the benefit of foreign entities. This cumbersome idea must be seriously considered by stakeholders, government and civil society groups before acting against the wishes of Ghanaians.