EPA calls for import duties on plastic products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suggested the slapping of duties on imported and locally produced plastic products to raise money for a "Plastic Waste Management Fund." The 1997 annual report of the Agency said about 700 million cedis could be collected annually, adding that the modalities for such a fund had already been discussed and the government and the society at large, could also contribute to the fund. It urged the private sector to go into the recycling of plastic waste, saying that about 96 per cent of all waste generated, go into landfills and another one per cent end up on the streets. The report said there are about 40 plastic ware producing firms in the country with an installed capacity of 26,000 tonnes per year.