As part of the drive to improve waste menace and ensure a clean environment, the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) in collaboration with Jekora Ventures, a waste management company has organized a day’s training workshop for 50 coconut sellers on the proper disposal of coconut husk in the municipality.
The programme is aimed at sensitizing the coconut sellers on the best practices in the disposal of coconut husks which are mostly left uncollected at some parts of the metropolis.
Addressing participants at the event the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Assembly, Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah said the dumping of coconut husk at unauthorised areas in the metropolis have contributed to the rising level of filth within the municipality.
He said sanitation have become a huge challenge across the country hence government is taking pragmatic steps to address the menace, saying it is against this backdrop that the Assembly has partnered Jekora Ventures to work out modalities to find innovative ways of disposing of coconut husks and its commercial viability for economic gains.
The Assembly has observed some of your members engage the services of some unauthorized collectors and they end up dumping the waste indiscriminately”, he lamented. He therefore advised the coconut sellers to transport the husks to the demarcated holding site located around the Iran Clinic on the Kojo Thompson road in Accra.
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For his part, the Managing Director of Jekora Ventures, Immanuel B. Nartey-Tokoli disclosed that 23 cubic metres of coconut waste are collected on daily bases within the municipality, adding that the husks can be processed into other bi-products for commercial purposes especially charcoal.
Consequently, the process of turning the coconut husks into charcoal will help reduce tree felling and avoid its negative impact on the environment.
According to him, the programme will be extended to other players in the market chain as part of the effort to rid the metropolis of filth.
The Environmental and Sanitation Health Officer of KoKMA, Victor Acquaye commended the participants for their inputs in the programme and urged them to practise good hygiene within their sales jurisdiction.
Source: Ben LARYEA
Great, Thanks! A++