The Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCARP) has stated that plastic waste is a significant contributor to flooding in major cities across Ghana.
According to the organization, over a million tons of plastic waste are produced in the country every year, with only about two to five percent being collected and recycled.
Numerous drains and streams in Kumasi are clogged with plastics, especially the Pelele River and the Aboabo Stream, contributing to perennial flooding in the area.
Eugene Amo-Asamoah, the Business and Communication Manager of KCARP, noted that uncollected plastic waste often clogs waterways, leading to flooding issues.
“When waste is not properly collected, handled, or recycled, it clogs our waterways, resulting in flooding,” he explained.
Speaking with Fatawu Bayaga as part of a plastic waste documentary, he further elaborated that flooding can displace people, cause loss of life, and damage property due to the improper disposal of plastics.
Mr. Amo-Asamoah pointed out additional consequences of indiscriminate waste dumping.
He explained that some individuals resort to burning plastics to dispose of them, releasing harmful gases into the air.
Prolonged exposure to these gases can lead to cancer and respiratory conditions.
Research indicates that the amount of plastic in the ocean is projected to double in the next 15 years, and by 2050, there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016).
Eugene finds this situation concerning, especially since plastics can choke aquatic animals and accumulate in humans who consume these contaminated creatures.
“If proper care is not taken to handle plastics here and now, in the very near future, if you go to cast your net to catch a fish, you might catch plastics, and it means that if these plastics abound and they’re in huge quantities in the water bodies, it will also destroy aquatic life, which is not something we’re interested to hear,” he noted.
Eugene Amo-Asamoah expressed the need for a change in behavior to significantly reduce the growing problem of plastic waste in the country.
