By: James Deku
The Global Climate Crisis has become a major Challenge for nations of the world. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as an international treaty among countries is helping to limit the increase of greenhouse gases which is significantly human caused.
Ghana has not been spared the adverse impact of climate change. Recent sea level rise along the coastal areas of Ghana is causing major havoc as communities continue to be displaced. Ghana as a party to the UNFCCC is pursuing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Key among the mitigation areas include waste management.
Recycling of waste and circularity of resources has been touted as a major emission reduction strategy. Methane which is a dangerous greenhouse gas is emitted whenever waste is disposed at the landfill without proper recycling.
Recycling of Organic waste has become a major feature of Ghana’s waste management strategy. There are Integrated Recycling and Compost Plants (IRECOPs) in all sixteen regions of Ghana of which ten of those plants have been commissioned and currently helping divert waste from landfills to this recycling plants.
The IRECOPs technology for organic waste recycling is a perfect fit for mitigating climate change as it reduces open dumping of waste by receiving the waste for proper treatment.
The technology which fit the waste generation characteristics of Ghana which is about 62% organic is able to recycle this waste into organic compost. Waste source separation is not mostly done in the communities of Ghana. The waste sent to the IRECOP is mixed waste and the technology is able to separate the organics from the plastics, paper, glass and metals. The other recovered materials such as plastics, paper and metals are sold for industries who need them as resource input for the manufacturing of other products. Aggressively pursuing this IRECOP technology will greatly help the climate as open dumping and land filling of waste emits methane which is a dangerous gase for causing climate Change
At COP 28, Ghana signed an agreement with the swiss government of which Six of these IRECOPs has become a subject of a carbon credit agreement. This exciting news gives credence to the fact that Ghana’s use of organic waste recycling to mitigate the climate change is helping fight climate change.
There is the urgent need for stakeholders to accelerate these IRECOPs in all communities of Ghana. The multiple benefits of constructing IRECOPs will be Job creation, rural economic development, reduction of poverty and other sustainable development gains.
The time to fight climate change is now, let us all undertake initiatives that will help mitigate the impact of climate change.
The Writer is a Climate Change Advocate.
