As part of activities to mark the Global Appreciation Work, MTN Ghana has launched plastic waste recycling campaign.
The eco-friendly company as a key strategic pillar on its Environmental Social and Governance Key Performance Indicator (KPI) index, is embarking on this laudable initiative in partnership with Jekora Ventures, a leading waste management company.
The first phase of the campaign labelled bins would be positioned at the MTN head office in Accra and its Osu offices also in Accra to collect the plastics, other locations within the regions such as Nhyiaeso, Kejetia, Takoradi Main, Market Circle, Koforidua, and the Wa Service Centres will follow suit.
The bins would be picked by the waste management company when they are full.
Speaking at the launch, Senior Manager, Sustainability, and Social Impact at MTN Ghana Foundation, Robert Kuzoe is confident the initiative will help Ghana achieve goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
“We are confident that this initiative will help deepen gains made already by our activities over the years and move us closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 11), which speaks to sustainable cities and communities requiring us to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable” he stated.
Mr Kuzoe indicated that, recycling a tonne of plastic saves energy equal to 5.774-kilowatt hour (kWh.) which is the equivalent to the amount of energy consumed by two people for a year.
“It’s estimated up to 40 percent of oil consumption could be reduced through recycling plastic waste” he added.
Mr. Kuzoe urged all who share in the vision of building a sustainable future to actively support this campaign as they transform their communities.
For his part, the Administrative Manager of Jekora Ventures Limited, Felix Laryea said since 2012, the company diverted its waste from the landfills because of the challenges in getting land to dispose of the tonnes of waste collected.
He noted that 60% of Ghana’s waste is organic, while 17% is plastic and the rest is paper and liquid. So, the company is using three composite facilities in Bortiano, Yilo Krobo and one in the Volta Region to fight the sanitation menace.
Mr Laryea was quick to add that since 2017, the company has been collecting waste from MTN Ghana’s head office. “We have collected 15 metric tonnes of plastic waste from the head office, while the quotum of paper waste collected is less”.
Background
MTN Ghana started source separation of its waste at the MTN house from February 2017. Till date the company continues to separate waste in three streams namely plastics, card boards, and organic waste.
Its partner vendor Jekora Ventures Limited collects these separated waste and recycles them into a number of household items. Additionally, through the company’s annual 21 days of Yello Care program, it has undertaken several initiatives such as collection of plastic bottles, and waste from the beeches for recycling, as well as using them for paving streets.
