2021 first quarter figures from the University of Ghana Plastic Recycling Project team indicates that about 6 tonnes of plastic have been collected on the campus of the university and its immediate surrounding areas.
The figure is almost half of what the team collected in 2020.
UGPRP collected 13 tonnes of plastic waste in 2020, the lowest it has recorded since its launch in 2018.
Leader of the team, Julius-Jayson Botchway blames the situation to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease.
He says that the closure of the University due to the pandemic led to fewer plastics being collected.
Julius-Jayson Botcway says that the team is working on “making the home recycling program very strong and sustainable”
He adds that they are also focussing on reaching out to homes and placing more bins at vantage points for collection

He says that they have “started providing bags of water to homes as an incentive for them to increase their segregation efficiency”

Commendation from Australian High Commissioner
Mr. Gregory Andrews, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana was full of praise for the team when he recently visited the campus of the university and saw their commitment to safeguarding the environment from pollution.
He said that he was proud of the students and staff of the University of Ghana for doing their part to protect the planet.
Terrific to see students and staff at @UniofGhana doing their part for a cleaner planet through recycling. Kudos @UGPRP! pic.twitter.com/nDmVeCkvSi
— Gregory Andrews (@AusAmbGHA) April 2, 2021
About UGPRP
The project is a subsidiary of the University’s Green Project under the auspices of the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu.
UGPRP is mainly made up of student volunteers.
The project started in the 2018/2019 academic year with sensitization and collection of plastic waste created in the University.
UGPRP comes as an earnest call to action to safeguard the environment from plastic pollution.
The initiative collects and recycles plastic waste thereby giving second life to otherwise waste generated by the university populace.
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Story by: Jeffrey Nyabor | universnewsroom.com