On the 5th of June 2019, Coliba Recycling Company, embarked on a plastic clean-up exercise in partnership with Voltic Mineral Water to commemorate the World Environment Day. This clean-up took place at Dansoman; Glefe and started in the early hours of 9am with about forty volunteers collectively from Voltic Mineral Water and University of Ghana (Legon). Plastic recyclables were picked, and residents of the area were synthesized on the need for segregation of their waste. The plastic recyclables brought in by the residents, were bought by Coliba, and the residents were paid based on the weight of plastics brought. Talking with Prince Mortey, the Project Manager of the iRecycle project; which is a special project under Coliba, he mentioned that this was the first time Coliba has organized a stationed pick-up of plastics. He also made it known that it took some time for the community to get involved in the activity. However, when they realized that they could generate income from their plastic waste, all hands were on deck. The children of the community expressed high indulgence in this activity, and some even played smart by reselling already sold plastic waste to the clean-up team.
Seven workers from Coliba Recycling Service Company aided in the monitoring of payments, the loading of the plastic recyclables onto the truck, and the education of the importance of recycling to the members of the community.
A tonne of plastic was collected at the end of the day, which beat the expectation of the team. With these impressive results, Coliba Recycling Service Company has decided to organize collection at a stationed area every three weeks at a randomly selected location in Ghana. They do not plan on abandoning Glefe and have made it a collection station to maintain the segregation of plastic recyclables from waste materials. This is to help preserve a plastic-free community.
Everyone was satisfied with how the World Environmental Day was observed in Glefe, courtesy Coliba Recycling Service and Voltic Mineral Water Company. They believe that the children now know the value of segregation of plastics. Is there anyone better to teach the entire community about recycling than our future leaders?