President John Dramani Mahama has said that the government intends to outlaw the use, production, and importation of takeout containers made of Styrofoam plastic in the nation.
The declaration was made by the President during World Environment Day celebrations at Kwabenya Community Senior High School in Accra, where he officially launched the One Tree Per Child Initiative.
Styrofoam is a non-biodegradable material that is about to be banned in response to the growing issue of garbage accumulation, particularly in urban places like Accra.
He stated that the struggle against pollution, wanton forest destruction, and illegal mining was crucial if they were to leave a healthy environment for their younger siblings and their unborn children.
He restated that outlawing the use of Styrofoam in food packaging was one of their other goals.
“One of the most pernicious polluters is Styrofoam plastic. When you go to buy your food and they put it in that white plastic something, and then you finish eating, you just dump it, that is one of the biggest polluters,” he said.
“And so, we are going to ban the importation of styrofoam plastics. We have to use paper packaging or aluminum foil for packaging our food.”
The President said he was letting the Styrofoam makers and importers know about their intention to outlaw the importing of Styrofoam and the production of Styrofoam in Ghana, working with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation.
According to President Mahama, the nation’s food packaging would be composed of aluminum and paper.
Source: newsthemegh.com