One of the most useful but yet hazardous products ever introduced to mother Earth is Plastics. Plastics are known, based on research, as non-biodegradable. Polythene is the most common used plastic – primarily for packaging. However over the few decades the usage of plastics is becoming more often attached to human activities than expected. Globally, 1 million plastics are used every minute. This environmental problem is epitomized by outrage surrounding the disposal of the plastic bag. In an average 12 months, 13 billion of them are dished out to consumers. They are generally employed or used for a mere 20 minutes before being discarded, and take a gargantuan 1,000 years to rot to nothing. In advanced and well developed countries, measures are put in place to cater for a more environmental friendly ways of handling the waste produced from plastics and polythene but yet plastic waste remains a global threat.

In Africa, most countries do not have an environmentally efficacious way of handling plastic waste but yet we use these products even more carelessly than in other parts of the world. The amount of polythene used by the population of people in developing countries compared to developed countries is far greater.

Ghana is one of the countries in Africa whose citizens have well adapted to the usage of polythene. As at the periods of 1990 to 2000, most people used paper as a primary source of wrapping and collecting purchased items. Between these periods, Obuasi (the golden city of Ghana) and areas around Aburi (Eastern Region, Ghana) were some of the places where I recall seeing school children buying food served in leaves, women going to market with their baskets not polythene bags (of different design and colours – causing visual pollution). When purchasing items of larger volume which cannot be wrapped in paper, people carry baskets or napkin to collect or wrap these items. Cities in Ghana were much cleaner and beautiful.

However, in recent years, usage of polythene has risen to become a threat for the environmental sector (particularly, waste management) in Ghana. Polythene flying in the air, beaches filled with plastic bottles and drainage systems choked with plastic products are some of the attributes of the plastic menace in Ghana.

I. Kumasi Landfill Site, Ghana. Photo Credit: Nicholas Seun Adatsi.

Following a recent flood disaster in Accra (Ghana?s capital city) and a lot of voices being raised by environmental advocates in Ghana such as the Green Africa Youth Organization?s "Anti-Plastic Campaign" supported by Samsung Engineering and UNEP  through Tunza Eco-generation, a decision was made by the Ghanaian government to ban light plastics (polythene) in November this year.

The ban was intended to help Ghana deal with waste management as most of the waste generated now are plastics, particularly polythene bags. However, the Ghana Plastic Manufacturers Association has petitioned that the ban should be suspended as they are keen to make their products degradable.

The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ghana Plastic Manufacturers Association has agreed that adding oxo-biodegradable additive to the manufacturing process will make the plastics decompose with time.  As at now, it is expected that plastics produced by manufacturers will be degradable.

Although the time span for degrading has not been announced, most environmental activists are expecting that plastic produce manufactured after this announcement will be degradable. Also research must be conducted to assess potential effect of this activity on soils. Currently, the Attorney General?s Department of Ghana is drafting a low on this issue to enhance an enforceable outcome of this news.