Written by: Naa Omanye-Aba Anang
Plastics are materials we use most of the time. But why do we see them all around us?
Plastics probably need about a million years to be degraded. Plastic pollution refers to the bad disposal of plastic waste and the excessive use of plastics. When it comes to plastic pollution in Ghana, it is something found everywhere especially at the beaches. The rate at which people in Ghana pollute the environment with plastics is very high. Plastic pollution is really affecting the environment in Ghana which is contributing to environmental pollution. I am writing this article to educate the people in Ghana about the causes, effects and solutions of plastic pollution.
Firstly plastic pollution is caused by the improper disposal of plastics, single-use plastics, lack of education on the effects of plastic pollution, insufficient skills to recycle waste and the negative attitude towards the environment. If people have more knowledge about plastic pollution, they can exhibit a positive attitude towards the environment and dispose of plastics properly. Since people in Ghana do not know about the effects, they therefore end up polluting the environment with plastics.
Secondly, the effects of polluting the environment with plastics are the following: death of aquatic animals, outbreak of diseases, reduction of human well-being, unattractiveness of the country and the high pressure on governments expenditure for solving problems of plastic pollution. When aquatic animals die, the eco.system will not be balanced and it will lead to a reduction in sales of fishes and other aquatic animals. When the country is not attractive due to plastic waste lying all around, tourists from other countries will not like to visit Ghana which leads to a loss of revenue for the country. The government will also spend a lot of money trying to solve the problems of plastic pollution. Ghanaians will also fack due to the outbreak of water-born diseases.
Finally, the solution to solving the problem of plastic pollution is as follows: easy access to bins everywhere, public education on the effects of plastic pollution, enforcing environmental protection laws, increase of recycling and upcycling and proper disposal of plastic waste. When bins are available, people will be able to put theri plastic wastes in the in and this will make it easy for the recycling and upcycling companies to recycle and upcycle plastic wastes. The Environmental Protection Agency and other environmental agencies must also contribute to the proper disposal of waste.
I hope that the Environmental protection Agency will enforce all environmental laws and the people in Ghana will also change their attitude towards the environment.