From the 21-23 June BCCC-Africa was in Accra, Ghana to celebrate the successful conclusion of the project on “Marine Litter and microplastics: Promoting the environmentally sound management of plastic waste and achieving the prevention and minimization of the generation of plastic waste in Ghana “

The Workshop was an opportunity for the National and International consultants to present the key deliverables of the project, namely:

• The results of the National Inventory and
• Legal & Institutional gap analysis on plastic waste management in Ghana

 It was also a time to appreciate the Government and people of Ghana for their steadfast support, inputs and cooperation, without which the achievements on the project would not have been possible. The excellent contribution of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency was also highlighted during the Workshop. 

The Executive Director of BCCCAfrica, Prof. Percy Onianwa who was represented by Mr. Oluseun Badejo, Project Officer BCCC-Africa, through his speech thanked the The Government of Norway through its Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) for graciously provided the funding for the project. 

He also thanked the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat) who provided the opportunity for BCCC-Nigeria to collaborate with it in the implementation of this project in furtherance of the Technical Assistance programme of the conventions. Prof. Percy Oniawa stated that BCCC-Nigeria will continue to work towards the scaling up and communication of lessons learnt to other African countries.

Speaking on some of the achievements of the Project, he  highlighted the following:

the review of legal and institutional frameworks for managing plastic waste,

the development and application of an inventory methodology,

the pilot projects on collection of fishing nets, use of reusable shopping bags, citizen science, beach clean-up, use of compostable/edible packaging, water vending machines & plastics-free schools

In closing he stated that it was his hope that the closure of the project in Ghana would  bear fruits in the country and beyond. He called on the international community to continue to support Ghana and other countries in the region in meeting the challenges of managing the huge plastic waste problems which the world faces today.

Click here to see Pictures fro the Workshop