Effective Waste Management Can Create Jobs, Enhance Health – Afenyo-Markin
The economic and health impacts of plastic waste has highlighted by the Member of Parliament for Effutu and Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Winneba, Ghana, recently, Afenyo-Markinsaid: “The economic cost of plastic waste is staggering… Rising fish prices in Senegal and a significant drop in fish landings in Ghana are just some examples of the far-reaching impact.”
Afenyo-Markin also emphasized the health risks associated with plastic waste, stating, “It contaminates our food chain, affecting not just our marine life but also the health of our people who consume these contaminated resources.”
Despite the challenges, Afenyo-Markin expressed optimism, saying, “Effective waste management solutions can create jobs, enhance public health, and protect our environment… Let us draw inspiration from the resilience and innovation that define our West African spirit.”
Honourable Bamidele Salam, a federal lawmaker from Nigeria, emphasized the need for practical approaches to solving the problem. “We should be able to come up with very practical approaches to solving the problem… One of the approaches to solving the problem is attitude. People need to understand that harming the environment through bad attitude in terms of disposal of waste, especially plastic, is harming themselves.”
Salam also stressed the importance of government action, saying, “Governments of all these countries also have to be more proactive… Environmental sustainability is one of the major goals of the SDGs, and countries have signed on to the SDGs.” He suggested offering rewards to communities and individuals who make efforts to reduce plastic waste, saying, “If rewards were given to communities, states, local government or municipalities, they would be more pragmatic in reducing plastic waste.”
The town hall meeting, organized by the ECOWAS Parliament Joint Committee, brought together various stakeholders to discuss the challenges posed by plastic waste and potential solutions in West Africa.