A group of citizens have petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo to place a progressive ban on plastics.
The group, the Green Advocates Alliance, urged the President to begin the ban by September 2019.
This would be a demonstration of the government’s commitment to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa, the group argued in its petition.
It insists that “it is evident, that our country Ghana has not yet developed the capacity to manage plastic waste.”
The group also claimed that there hasn’t “been any major step or stride taken in curtailing the treacherous consequences of the mismanagement of plastic waste in Ghana.”
The group added that the ban was needed “to curb the flooding menace in our cities.”
“We also request His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo to show his commitment to making Accra the cleanest city in Africa by banning plastics on a progressive basis, starting with polythene bags by September 2019.”
“As youths of this country, we are of the firm belief that we should be concerned about the state and future of this country, especially in relation to our environment.”
The group hopes the government follows in the steps of Tanzania, which plans to ban the production, importation, sale and use of all single-use plastic bags by July, to help tackle pollution from non-biodegradable waste.
Also, in August 2017, Kenya placed a ban on plastic bags along with a four-year prison term or a fine of $40,000 for flouting the ban.
The two East African nations are among 60 other countries that have banned, partly banned or taxed single-use plastic bags.
They have also made a formal commitment to phase out single-use non-biodegradable plastics.
The non-biodegradable plastics have been identified by the United Nations as one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges.
Of the 9 billion tonnes of plastic the world has produced, only 9 percent has been recycled, the U.N. has estimated.