Zoomlion Promises 1 Household, 1 Dustbin

Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies, has proposed one household one dustbin intervention as a major way to help deal with the growing sanitation menace in the country.

According to him, the move would go a long way to assist household to join the campaign to improve the country’s sanitation.

Speaking at a sanitation forum organised by IMANI Africa in Accra today, Dr. Agyapong said the basic solution to Ghana’s waste challenge was to ensure that every household had a waste bin to store waste.

He said improper waste storage continues to hinder the progress of work done by waste contractors.

“When these waste are not stored in a waste bin for collection by the waste contractor, then we can be rest assured that it will end up at unauthorized places. There is therefore the urgent need to ensure that households have waste bins and sanitation regulations enforced to change attitudes for effective waste management” Dr Agyapong argued

Zoomlion intervention

He said Zoomlion’s intervention by desilting the Odaw drains after the June 3 disaster had averted possible flood situations since 2016, adding that “despite not being paid for our desilting works on the Odaw drain, Zoomlion is still committed to desilting the drain to save lives and properties which has been a phenomenon anytime there is a heavy downpour”, he added.

Dr. Agyepong mentioned the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, waste transfer stations, plastics recycling, medical waste treatment and the Liquid waste treatment, as some private intervention that had helped solve Ghana’s problem of disposing of fecal waste indiscriminately.

He said it was unfortunate that despite the effort put in place by the company, the private sectors contributions had not been rewarded.

Elsewhere in developed countries, Dr. Agyapong said projects were undertaken by the government but in Ghana the private sector “does all of the funding single-handedly”.

“This is where we need the government to assist us to expand some of the waste projects in the country'” he said.

Sanitation Minister

The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda, in his presentation, said the ministry, as part of its interventions to deal with waste management, would soon deploy sanitation brigades to enforce sanitation laws and help shape attitudes towards good sanitation.

He commended Zoomlion for its introduction of waste trucks which had helped in managing waste.

The Minister urged the company not to allow the debt owed them to stop them from continually providing effective service to help solve Ghana’s waste challenge.

AMA Ready

For his part, the Mayor of Accra, Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, said more efforts were required to address the sanitation challenges.

He said his outfit would launch the Accra Beautification Project in the next few months as part of effort to improve sanitation in Accra.