Togbe Ghana
Togbe Ghana, originator of the Ewe reggae/dancehall, has partnered with foreign organisations to embark on beach cleaning exercises to promote tourism as well as reduce plastic waste along the beaches.
According to Togbe Ghana, the clean-up exercise took place at some selected places such as the Art Centre, Teshie, and Prampram beach among others in collaboration with the Proocean, Monda4Africa, and others to raise awareness on the effect of plastic waste on marine life.
Togbe Ghana further stated that the plastic waste collected are recycled into plastic-based paving blocks and interlocking bricks for housing and other constructions.
He said, “We gather the plastic seen along our beaches, we mix it with the sand before burning the plastic to produce bricks used for the construction of pavement blocks and buildings.”
He added, “So, we are turning this plastic waste into building materials that the ordinary Ghanaian can afford. We also want to use recycled plastic waste to build homes for those who cannot afford the expensive houses.”
According to official data, Ghana generates over one million tonnes of plastic waste annually, but only five per cent is recycled, making landfill sites continually choked and the streets besieged by plastic waste.
“We are calling on the government and other NGOs to support the clean-up exercise to help reduce plastic waste and support our recycling project to produce more construction materials,” he added.
He, however, announced that on Sunday, June 27, there would be another cleaning exercise at the Arts Centre beach from 8am to 10am as well as from 3pm to 6pm on same day.
He mentioned that there would be free cleaning materials including gloves, T-shirts, food, and drinks among others.
By George Clifford Owusu