The government has committed to support the energy to waste sector also known as green energy to expand and operate nationwide.
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, made the call yesterday, during an inspection tour of the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP) at Adjen-Kotoku in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region,.
Assuring that the government was ready to support any private entity that would venture into the green energy space, she commended the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and asked the company to lead in the waste to energy e sector.
According to her, though investing in the waste to energy space was capital intensive, she was confident JGC, with its track record, would be able to marshal the needed resources to undertake such a project.
She commended the JGC for its continuous ‘huge investment” in the water and sanitation space which were evident in the group’s completed and ongoing waste management projects across the country.
After being conducted around the plant by the General Manager (GM) of ACARP, Mr Michael Padi Tuwor, Madam Dapaah expressed her satisfaction with operations at the facility.
“I am very impressed with operations at ACARP because they have lived up to expectation,” she said.
The Minister of Sanitation emphasised that it was crucial that there were projects like ACARP to help add value to waste in the country.
“Where would we have put the 7,149,922 tons of waste generated yearly if there were no projects like ACARP”? she quizzed.
Madam Dapaah was full of praise for members of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) for their contributions towards waste management.
She also used the opportunity to encourage Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of waste separation first in the homes.
“The country must also wean itself from open defecation, and desist from the practice of including solid waste to faecal sludge,” she advised.
She indicated that her ministry was consciously sensitising Ghanaians on the need to bury organic materials for compost and ensure that inorganic materials were transported to transfer stations and facilities such as ACARP.
Mr Tuwor, thanked Madam Dapaah and her team for the visit.
He assured that the company would continue to contribute its quota towards managing and adding value to waste.