Executive Director and Ambassador of Drink Safety Water (DSW), a water safety advocacy group is calling on the various districts and municipalities in the country to immediately discourage the use of plastic straws and bottles in the country due to their non-biodegradable properties.
Mr. Issaka Amon Kotei, a local government expert and a Drink Safety Water Ambassador who suggested the use of bamboo straws instead of plastic straws was worried that plastic water containers and plastic straws are dumped into most of our water bodies and thus contaminate them. This he claims, comes with a lot of implications since many fisher folks today can’t make a good catch due to the indiscriminate disposal of these plastics into the water bodies.
He made the above call during an interaction with members of the group in the Eastern Region.
He further explained that if communities do not begin to acknowledge this as a problem, fishes might become a scarce commodity on the market.
Mr. Issaka Amon Kotei therefore suggested that Ghana adopts the use of bamboo straws and paper to save water bodies and the ecosystem.
Madam Hilda Huadji who is also a member of DSW also observed that, “The move will help sustain our lands for farming and reduce the rate of mosquito breed in the country” while another ambassador, Mr. Fred Amui expressed surprise at the weak steps the country has taken in fighting water and sanitation problems in the country.
‘We have failed as a people to use our water systems for transport to ease traffic in the cities but we have resolved to make them dumping sites for straws and plastic bottles,’ Mr. Amui bemoaned, citing the “Korley Lagoon” as an example of a damaged water source. “We have a big problem in Ghana and the only way to solve it is to advocate for bamboo straws and paper bagged water,” he added.
He added that we have failed as a people to use our water systems for transport to ease traffic in the cities but have resulted in making them dumping sites for straws and plastic bottles citing the ‘Korley Lagoon’ as an example of a damaged water source. “We have a big problem in Ghana and the only way to solve it is to advocate for bamboo straws and paper bagged water.”
Source: Krobea Asante/ritefmonline.org
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