"Plastic waste to exceed the volume of fish in the oceans by 2050"

According to the report from the Ellen and MacArthur Foundation, the volume of plastic in the ocean is expected to exceed the volume of fish by 2050.

The United Nations has also reported that nearly 80% of marine litter is plastic, with growing plastic islands floating in the world's oceans.

Dr. Clement Apaak, MP for Builsa South, revealed these facts in a statement he had read to Parliament about plastic waste management.

He said that, contrary to popular belief, high-income countries generate more plastic waste per person than low-income countries.

He stressed that these countries are more effective in managing the threat of plastic waste and its risk of penetration into the ocean.

According to him, plastic waste has become a solid hazardous waste that clogs the waterways and causes respiratory illnesses when burned, in addition to many other negative impacts.

The application of plastic waste management policies, he said, remains weak, while global plastics manufacturing continues to increase the amount of plastic debris in the oceans and on earth.

Mr. Apaak made suggestions on how to combat the threat. According to him, it should include the total or partial ban of the plastic.

He however indicated that a ban should be pursued as part of a plastic policy backed up by an effective waste management system.

These systems, he said, need to be improved in terms of investments in sustainable disposal infrastructure and waste collection systems.

He observed that recycled plastic could be used in the manufacturing industry to produce items of monetary value to citizens, which would encourage people to step up the collection of plastic waste.

According to him, effective strategies should also be adopted to educate and motivate behavior change through community-based sanitation ambbadadors.

The Minister of Environment, Science and Innovation said that in the context of plastic waste management, the ministry had mandated a company in Pokuasi that currently converts plastic into diesel and provides mining companies.

He said another company makes pavers from plastic and sand scraps.

These two examples, he said, are part of the efforts to recover plastic waste.

He lamented that segregation is the biggest challenge in plastic waste management, as households still struggle to keep other waste separated from plastic waste.

He stressed that the ministry was not the only stakeholder to worry about the plastic waste threat and urged the public to support the campaign.