Universal Plastic Products and Recycling (UPPR) Ghana Limited in collaboration with Ecobank Ghana Limited and the Environment Service Providers Association (ESPA) has launched the One Million Waste-Bins Project.
The project is aimed at facilitating the supply of one million waste bins to households and businesses in all cities and communities around the country to reduce indiscriminate littering and promote good health.
Speaking at the event, Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana Dan Sackey noted: “Ecobank entered into the collaboration to ensure that we are able to help create mass awareness about environmental cleanliness among the Ghanaian populace.
“It is our aim to encourage the wide use of waste bins in every home and business in Ghana and actively promote recycling of waste.”
The pan-African bank has committed a whopping $10 million as credit facility to support the production of the waste bins.
Mr. Dan Sackey explains that Ecobank Ghana is “doing this to support the first phase of the 1million waste bin project which we believe will go a long way to promote environmental best practices, good health and general wellbeing. We are at the same time relying on this partnership to provide a variety of payment solutions to the numerous patrons of waste management service providers and to propel Ghana towards the much-desired cash lite economy status”.
The Executive Secretary of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Ama Ofori Antwi, said the absence of waste bins in various households, workplaces, lorry parks and other public places has been the major reason for indiscriminate littering.
She intimated the introduced project will promote existing sanitation initiatives by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and also create over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country.
Launching the project, the Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Michael Djato, said the Ministry is totally committed to working with both the public and private sector to rid the country of filth.
“The issue of sanitation was key on government’s agenda and the Ministry was ever ready to support initiatives such as the 1 million Waste Bin Project.”
He commended Ecobank, UPPR and ESPA for their collaboration to support the fight against insanitary practices in the country.
As a partner, Ecobank is deploying its digital solutions to enable clients of waste management companies, pay their monthly collection service fees with greater convenience.
The bank is further enabling ESPA members who use its electronic collection tools to also pay their service providers more efficiently using Ecobank OMNI.
The waste bins are fitted with Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) tags that enables the Waste Management Companies closely monitor and effectively oversee the operations of their workers on the field.
By Jeffrey Mawutor Attipoe|3news.com|Ghana