Informal waste collectors have been urged to explore opportunities in the sanitation value chain and create green jobs to enhance their lots.
The collectors, drawn from various districts, were engaged in networking skills and the need to form co-operatives to expand their jobs.
The sensitisation, which was held by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), is line with the Ministry’s National Green Jobs Strategy to coordinate green jobs interventions and facilitate the provision of the requisite skills for green enterprise development.
Miss Gloria B. Noi, Director, Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) of the Ministry, said the event aimed at promoting decent job creation and good environmental practices in the waste management sector as Ghana transitioned to a green economy.
She said waste management played a significant role in addressing issues relating to climate change, saying waste generated should create wealth, provide job opportunities, protect the environment, and not b
ecome a burden on society.
Miss Noi said the Ministry in collaboration with the Department of Co-operatives had started sensitising players in the sector to the need to form co-operatives to promote their collective interest through skills development and access to support services in the waste management value chain.
Mr Max H. Jumbo, General Secretary, Informal Waste Workers, commended the Ministry for the initiative, but called for continuous financial and technical support to help them create more value.
‘Moving forward, it would not be business as usual where we only dwell on collection. Waste now is an economic commodity, and we must utilise every opportunity available in the value chain,’ he said.
He said segregation of waste in homes and cost of waste at the transfer stations were their main challenges and asked agencies in the sector to find solutions to them.
Mr Awudu Damani Musah, Skill Development Consultant, said though waste had been a mess to all countries, its economic value had been undou
btedly massive when turned into other products with the help of innovation and technology.
He said the waste value chain had opportunities at the point of collection, disposal, and the recycling, adding that ‘the opportunities in the waste sector are in agriculture, automotive, transport, tourism and industry among others.’
‘For instance, the plastic they collect can be used for so many things. They need to identify other areas that need the plastics as an alternative. For instance, a lady in Nigeria has used car tyres to produce tiles for the construction sector,’ Mr Musah said.
Over the next three days, the event would have presentations, and discussions, with networking opportunities for participants.