5.3 tons of waste collected by 220 volunteers at the #EUBeachCleanup in Accra

Marine litter is a global challenge. Every year millions of tons of trash end up in the ocean. It is estimated that by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the sea. The European Union, in partnership with Plastic Punch, organised again this year the #EUBeachCleanup, to
clean the Regional Maritime University beach at Nungua, Accra.

During the morning of Saturday (26-9-2020), the volunteers collected 5.3 tons of waste from the turtle nesting beach, which included: 4.1 tons of plastics (PET); 160 kg of water sachets, 400 kg of electronic waste; 560 kg of textiles; 194 kg of shoes, 42 tyres. The waste was separated by the volunteers at the beach and was forwarded to different entities for
treatment.

Representatives of the Embassies of the Netherlands, Malta, Denmark, Czech Republic and Switzerland, the Regional Maritime University, the Municipal Chief Executive of Krowor Constituency and Victoria Michaels, an entrepreneur and model, joined the event that counted the participation of 220 volunteers.

Other participants at the event were the Waste and Create, Plastic Punch, Xtreme Upcycle and GreenWay international: four entities that took delivery of the waste collected. This would be utilised for recycling and upcycling workshops scheduled for 3rd October at the Alliance Française in Accra. These activities are part of the EU Climate Week 2020.

Almost all the plastic bottles were collected at the end of the exercise. Unfortunately, many wastes were left behind. The beach had too many textiles that was difficult to collect by the volunteers. The activity ended with a tree planting exercise. Volunteers planted 20 coconut trees to protect the beach shoreline from coastal erosion and mitigate the impacts of sea-level rise.

Background

Cleaning up the oceans is fundamental, but it cannot be the main strategy to deal with the problem of marine litter, which needs to be tackled at its source. Improved waste and wastewater management, increased recycling, avoidance of single-use products and product eco-design can efficiently prevent marine litter. Such behavioural and policy choices require
intensive education and awareness-raising.

The EU is committed to supporting Ghana not only in the awareness-raising, but also in finding proper, environmental and green solutions to solve the waste problem in Ghana.