Zugu: An environmental intervention named 'GoClean' has been introduced in the Zugu community within the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region to address inadequate waste management practices in the area.
According to Ghana News Agency, the initiative involves setting up a basic waste collection system to raise awareness about the negative impacts of improper waste disposal on human, animal, and environmental health. This initiative is a joint effort by MONDO, an organization from Estonia, in partnership with Ghana Developing Communities Association and Changing Lives in Innovative Partnerships (CLIP), under the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) network.
In many rural areas, informal dumping and open-air landfills are common, with little regard for their long-term impact. The GoClean initiative commenced with discussions with community elders, who acknowledged waste disposal as a pressing issue and supported the intervention as a crucial starting point. They also highlighted related concerns, such as the lack of toilets and the poor state of existing soak away systems.
A follow-up meeting with the broader community helped identify prevalent waste types, including plastic, fabric, and food waste. CLIP, through its GoAdapt program, previously provided training on producing organic compost from agricultural waste to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers. This new intervention focuses specifically on plastic recycling.
A partnership was formed with a local plastic recycling company that agreed to purchase the collected plastic waste. During a community clean-up day, bins and gallons were strategically placed, and residents, mostly women, received cleaning supplies such as gloves, rakes, and nose masks.
After the clean-up, a representative from Zablikani Plastic Recycling Company demonstrated proper sorting of plastic waste. The session also encouraged households to increase the use of organic composting with food waste, benefiting farming activities and improving local waste management.
Visual sensitization activities using image displays further conveyed the benefits of proper waste handling. The District Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit supported the intervention.
A local youth group, the Youth Environmental Brigades, has been assigned to monitor the bins' condition and coordinate with Zablikani Plastic Recycling Company on collection and sorting. Mr. Nuuruden Ibrahim, Coordinator of the GoAdapt Project, and Miss Chiara Avanzi, a volunteer from MONDO and ESC, will conduct monthly follow-up visits to assess behavior changes in waste segregation and adherence to the recycling partnership.