AMA, GAYO sign MoU on zero waste management and reduction of methane emission

The project is aimed at creating awareness of proper waste management and segregation techniques to foster sustainability and community ownership.

It is also intended to help address social and environmental challenges and improve waste management, methane emission and air pollution in the metropolis.

The MoU will help the two parties carry out research and provide solutions to pressing environmental issues through youth empowerment, skills development and public education as they work directly with local communities to reduce the vulnerability of groups that are at risk of climate impacts. 

Scope

The MoU will establish an institutional mechanism for youth engagement in climate change policy and waste management while supporting public, private and informal waste management stakeholders to maximise the potential of zero waste in the Accra metropolis.

GAYO, as part of the MoU, would provide expertise and resources for the delivery of the Zero Waste for Sustainable Cityscape in the Accra metropolis and synergise with AMA to formulate and design an effective waste collection framework that supports the livelihood of target groups and small and medium-scale enterprises.

AMA and GAYO will work closely to conduct research on waste material within the Assembly, to be published as literature or a scientific paper, as well as to design a material recovery facility or a buy-back centre for waste collection and recycling.

Vision

The Director of Programmes and Innovation at GAYO, Betty Osei Bonsu, said the waste management campaign was a rife avenue for GAYO to help tackle the emission of methane gas, which emanated from decomposed waste and affected air quality.

She added that as part of the project, there would be a “clean air campaign to empower environmental health officers to carry out environmental and air pollution monitoring to ascertain areas with higher air pollution and design mechanisms to reduce it”.

She added that it would create 100 direct jobs for persons interested in the waste management sector and 500 indirect jobs for informal waste pickers who would be supported with coordination and constitute themselves in formalising the informal jobs. 

Appreciation

The Director of Waste Management at the AMA, Solomon Noi, indicated that the country could not collect more than 70 per cent of all wastes generated across the country, saying, “In the Accra metropolis, we generate over 5,000 metric tonnes of waste every day.

The remaining 30 per cent uncollected waste is what you see, especially when it rains”.

He said the AMA would leverage its collaboration with GAYO to train and educate the citizenry on the need to separate waste and get on-site projects, especially bulk waste generators and the idea to minimise the quantity of waste left.

He added that GAYO’s aim to educate the people in the community would help them police each other in ensuring that the proper waste management practices were observed in their respective communities to promote effective waste management and reduce methane emission.