Waste management is becoming one of the critical issues in Ghana in recent years. Despite the environmental and sanitation policies, waste is currently a public menace in all cities and in Ghana. Following recent incidents in Ghana, such as the cholera outbreak which claimed over 100 lives and the June 6th disaster which claimed about 150 lives – one of the most highly recognized environmental disasters in Ghana, waste management can clearly be noticed as a public hazard which needs immediate attention.
As a green organization, we have identified plastic usage as one of the major contributors to the waste menace in Cape Coast community. Not only does it cause pollution in communities, fishermen has periodically withdrawn their nets from the sea discovering plastics in the gills and other sensitive parts of fishes – indicating the plastic pollution in our inter tidal zones.
Green Africa Youth Organization has therefore developed the “SAY NO TO PLASTICS” CAMPAIGN to educate households along the cape coast – Elmina coastline about the harmful effect of plastics on the environment: The number of years they take to decompose; Nuisance they cause; Contribution to flooding and thus, suggest alternatives to be used in place of plastics such as: using baskets or jute bags (that can be reused) to the market instead of the polythene bags or using paper to wrap dry items bought in nearby stores in the community.
Our campaign comes in the form of a health walk, where campaigners (volunteers) will walk through the communities while educating community members and interacting with them on environmental safety. Printed leaflets with tips on how to reuse domestic items will be distributed to each household to serve as a guide to minimize waste generation in the community.

This project is organized by Green Africa Youth Organization.
Partners: A Rocha UCC, Ghana Youth Climate Coalition and Environmental and Fisheries Student’s Associations of the University of Cape coast.
Kindly contact the campaign coordinators for any enquiry Mrs. Rhoda Tetteh (+233543754204) and Ms. Ansah Boatemaa (+233241494193).

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