Youth groups, and civil society organisations from various communities in Accra participated in a cleanup to clear the plastics and rubbish from the beach around the Arts Centre in Accra.
The event was part of marking this year’s World Cleanup Day. aimed at ridding the coastal beaches of filth.
Saturday,s exercise brought together the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), SOCODEVI through the Together Project, CAMFED Association Accra, Youth Mappers and the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly highlighted the urgent need to protect the country’s coastal environment from the growing threat of waste pollution.
Leading the exercise, Project Coordinator for Zero Waste Cities in Accra at GAYO, Ms Mabel Naa Amorkor Laryea, expressed deep concern over the overwhelming presence of plastics and residual waste along the shoreline.
According to her, most of the waste collected, such as styrofoam and single-use plastics, were non-recyclable, making cleanups increasingly difficult.
“We came here with the intention of even turning some of the waste into art pieces, but what we encountered was heartbreaking. Much of the waste is residual, buried deep into the soil, and cannot be reused or recycled, this tells us that as a country, we need to urgently reduce our intake of single-use plastics and embrace more sustainable, reusable materials,” she stated.
Ms Laryea stressed that the health of coastal ecosystems, including fish stocks and water resources, was directly tied to the well-being of the communities that depend on them, warning that failing to keep the environment clean jeopardizes both public health and livelihoods.
She note the absence of waste bins along the beach and called on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to take stronger measures to provide waste disposal infrastructure and carry out continuous sensitization.
“This beach has the potential to attract swimmers and recreational users, but in its current state, it is unsafe and environmentally unhealthy. Plastics take hundreds of years to decompose, and allowing them to accumulate here endangers both people and marine life,” she said.
The Principal Coordinator of SOCODEVI, Ms Martha Rainer Mensah underscored the health implications of poor sanitation in coastal communities and called for stronger regulations to protect the oceans.
“Health is important for everyone, and a clean environment translates into a healthy lifestyle. This is why today’s activity is not just about cleaning but also about education and sensitization,” she explained.
Ms Mensah stated that cleanup activities should not be treated as one-off ceremonial gestures but rather as part of everyday community practice, urging residents, especially those living along the coast, to adopt responsible waste management habits.
BY CECILIA YADA LAGBA
