Story by Hannah Dadzie and Belinda Elikplim Kpetsi
Stakeholders in the environment sector have been urged to help address the stigma associated with waste collection to help save the environment. Speaking at the launch of the first Circular Innovation Hub, which transforms the lids of plastic bottles into lifestyle products and bicycles at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region, the Founder and Executive Director of Environment360, Cordie Aziz-Nash said some waste pickers who help to safeguard the environment from filth are allegedly mocked at by some individuals.
She said it is time to provide training to waste pickers to become innovative especially with plastics to create sustainable businesses. This will reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfills. Mrs Aziz-Nash said her organization is working with local and national authorities to identify major waste streams to spur job creation for economic development.
The Circular Innovation Hub by Environment360 is the first of its kind in West Africa. It creates green jobs by providing capacity training that help communities to add value to waste streams found in communities. The first part of the training series moves women waste pickers from collectors into small scale recyclers. According to the Founder and Executive Director of Environment360, Cordie Aziz-Nash, the programme seeks to create two thousand jobs and recycle more than ten thousand metric tons of plastic in the next five years through its training programmes. She said so far seven women have been trained and fifteen more are to be equipped this year to empower them to be entrepreneurs, thereby creating more jobs.
“Most interventions for plastic and other waste strains that we have seen only focus on the collection of the waste which however creates a variety of mess. But our idea of creating the hub is to be able to take the wastes to the innovation level and try to make recycling accessible even to the smallest individual. We also want to help others to be independent entrepreneurs.”Mrs. Aziz-Nash said
Deputy Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Nicole Guihot pledged that her country will support the innovation to help eliminate plastic waste which has become a worrying phenomenon, especially in Africa.
“Plastic waste is a problem globally, and several innovation programmes like the Environment 360 have tried to curb the issue. We hope that other private sectors partner with us so we grow. This initiative will not only be providing value change for plastic waste but also create employment opportunities as well. Madam Guihot indicated
The project, which was funded by the Australian Direct Aid Programme plans to replicate Innovation Hubs throughout West African communities.
