Zoomlion unveils integrated recycling and composting plant

The expert in waste management, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, opened another important step in its operations on Friday with the company's launch of the integrated recycling and composting plant (IRECOP) in Korle Bu, Accra.

This marks a whole new approach to dealing with the tons of waste generated in Accra.

The introduction of recycling and composting plants across the country is one of the major private sector responses to the challenge of waste disposal.

The factories have the capacity to recover the waste that would have been buried and processed into raw materials for the industry. This preserves the environment of pollution and the space required for the installation of new landfills.

The Integrated Recycling and Composting Plant (IRECOP) has a waste recovery rate of 80% and the ability to process 800 tonnes of solid waste on a sixteen (16) hour workstation. T

The plant is designed to further process about 200 tons of compost per day.

Socio-economic benefit and job creation

The plants will also attract commercial activities to the areas where they are located (food and beverage establishments, transportation companies and other related activities).

For example, the recycling and composting project would improve sociocultural activities around factories; while improving the green and climatic resistance of the watersheds they serve.

The more than 60 tonnes of compost that would be produced daily per plant would move more than 864,000 bags of chemical fertilizer imported each year to Ghana.

This would be a significant saving on the country's foreign exchange needs. The annual production of about 216,000 bags of compost per plant is expected, as well as an additional 600,000 seedlings for distribution to commercial farms, mine reclamation and the government's planting program for planting. food and employment.

These are real potentials for increasing the indirect creations of jobs in the radius of action. Each plant will provide direct and indirect jobs to more than 1,000 people in the region.

Benefits for the environment and health

The facility is designed to combat the indiscriminate dumping of solid waste resulting in widespread pollution and its effects on human health throughout the country. Thus, the factories will contribute to the improvement of sanitation leading to optimal health of MMDA residents.

Raw materials for the industry

The plant will recover waste such as plastics, metals, organic materials, paper and glbad that could be useful as raw materials for industries.

Research and training

The plant will also serve as a research and training center for educational institutions such as universities / polytechnics, colleges of higher education, undergraduate and graduate schools as well as colleges and universities. industries of the regions. Students will be allowed to use the facilities for project work, internships and related work. The installation could also be beneficial for industrial visits / visits

Realize the program of the government "A district, a factory (1D1F)

The government has also set up the program "One district, one factory (1D1F)"

Other benefits of the integrated recycling and composting plant

• The IRECOP will provide employment opportunities to hundreds of tricycle operators in the informal sector.

• This is part of the government's policy to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

• It will convert the unsightly area of ​​Agbogbloshie into an ecological enclave (linking all activities inherent to the management and recycling of waste streams in the enclave).

• Facilities will reduce turnaround times for operators and improve the efficiency of waste collection in central business districts.

• The operation of IRECOP will reduce the pressure on available landfills, which are expensive to build and manage.

• The cleanliness that will result will boost the tourism potential of our cities.

• It will serve as an environmental management research and training center for universities, CSIR, EPA, district health inspectorate staff, and other institutions.

In Ghana, about 5 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated each year, about 60% of which is organic. The non-recyclable components of waste generated in Ghana represent about 20%, which means that 80% can be recovered and recycled. In addition, about 25% of the organic waste received in the material recovery and composting facilities remains in the form of compost.

Globally, 2.1 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated, of which 33% (693 million tonnes) is not well managed (World Bank, 2018).

As a result, of the 5 million tonnes of waste generated in Ghana, 750,000 tonnes out of a total of 5 million tonnes of organic material can be converted into compost each year across the country (AfES Consult, 2018). If more such facilities are located throughout the country under the IDIF initiative, significant amounts of fertilizer imported into the country will be significantly reduced.

According to reports, nothing that in 2015, 430 610 tons of chemical fertilizers were imported into the country.

In Ghana, waste disposal is gradually shifting from landfills and landfills to value-added through the use of sustainable technologies (socio-economic) and environmentally friendly. The environmental (pollution) and social burden (employment / job creation and cultural enhancement) is at the heart of this change.

In recent years, for example, the private sector has demonstrated its commitment or interest in recycling waste (composting, recycling) and recovering energy from waste (using biogas or landfill gas). partnership with the government.