Stakeholders in Ghana’s environmental and waste management sector have validated a marine litter policy brief aimed at addressing critical gaps in the country’s waste management system and improving environmental sustainability.
The validation formed part of broader efforts to develop a stronger policy framework that would enhance governance, improve financing mechanisms and promote more efficient waste management practices across the country.
Richmond Kennedy Quarcoo, Country Director of the Prevention of Marine Litter in the Gulf of Guinea (PROTEGO) Project Ghana, said the policy brief examined key challenges across the entire waste management value chain, including governance weaknesses and limited financing structures.
He said inadequate waste management systems continued to pose a major challenge, stressing the need for reforms in the way services were financed and delivered.
“It has been established that we have a baseline problem of insufficient waste management systems, and the solution lies in how we generate revenue and structure contracts for these services,” he said.
Mr Quarcoo, who also serves as Executive Director of Plastic Punch, explained that the policy proposed decentralising waste management systems to improve efficiency and ensure better service delivery.
He said key institutions such as the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and the Environmental Protection Authority were contributing to the policy process, together with lessons drawn from international best practices.
He noted that the PROTEGO Project had been structured into four key work areas, including the mapping of marine litter hotspots, which identified Tema and Ada as priority areas requiring urgent intervention.
Under the innovation component, he said the project was supporting waste management and recycling initiatives such as Coliba Recycling and Ambitious Ghana River Recycle with funding of up to 40,000 euros and technical support to help scale their operations.
Quarcoo added that the project also focused on policy development, including support for extended producer responsibility systems, as well as awareness creation through digital tools such as animations and educational content.
He expressed optimism that the validated policy brief would contribute to a more comprehensive framework that would strengthen waste management practices, mobilise sustainable financing and reduce marine litter in Ghana.
Dr Peter Dery, Director for Environment at the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, said although Ghana adopted a National Plastic Waste Management Policy in 2022 to regulate plastic waste, the framework did not adequately address marine litter.
He said increasing concerns about plastics entering the ocean, largely from land-based sources such as poor waste disposal and blocked drainage systems, had made it necessary to develop a targeted policy brief.
Dr Dery clarified that the document was not a new policy but would serve as an input into the review of the existing framework to ensure marine litter was properly addressed.
He said the Ministry welcomed the initiative, especially as it was already considering a revision of the national policy and implementing new measures to manage marine pollution in collaboration with development partners.
Dr Dery also noted that ongoing partnerships with international organisations were supporting Ghana’s efforts to strengthen environmental governance and address marine litter.
He said global discussions on plastic pollution were increasingly focusing on the marine environment, and Ghana was positioning itself to align with emerging international standards by strengthening its policy framework.
