Ghana’s Improvement of Plastic Waste: A Research Proposal on the Adoption of the Pfand System of Germany
Plastic plays a significant role in everyday life. The introduction of plastic resulted in the transformation and complexities of plastic waste management. Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of plastic, and evidence indicates the adverse effect of plastic on human health and the environment. The profound evidence suggests a need for action on plastic waste and for all stakeholders, governments, businesses, citizens, and manufacturers to engage (Vanapalli et al. 2021). Plastic waste remains a perceptible and significant challenge problem in Ghana. The research aims to evaluate the critical issues of plastic waste in Ghana by examining its detrimental impacts on the environment and society, compared to Germany’s plastic waste management system, to understand what can be done and ensure that the issue is addressed.
How Ghana can improve on Plastic waste
The problem of plastic waste has gained attention from the media, government, and non-profit organizations that seek to use different strategies to address the challenge. Musah et al. (2021) assert that much of the effort is frustrated by the lack of sufficient engagement of those directly affected as government and management action neglect the human dimension of plastic waste. The Ghanaian government lacks a proper management system for plastic waste. As a result, the accumulation of plastic waste in dumpsites around the community in oceans and rivers has increased over time. Abota (2012) emphasizes that the local community, in collaboration with non-government organization efforts, focuses on eliminating waste around the community through incineration. This approach has resulted in more problems due to the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere, resulting in air pollution.
Ghana can improve on managing plastic waste by adopting a multidisciplinary approach that considers different factors in plastic waste management. For example, according to Debrah, Vidal, and Dinis (2021), a manufacturing approach can be developed with house recycling operations, producing unique household and industrial products. Sustainability training will provide knowledge and skills on the risk of pollution, the recycling process, and different operations involving processing high-quality plastic from recycled materials (Abota, 2012). Using local innovations to reduce plastic usage by involving multiple businesses whose products have been tried and tested will offer the government and community environmental stability and improve economic, social, and ecological well-being.
Sustainability and Recycling
A significant problem contributing to the plastic waste challenge in Ghana is its high economic growth and lack of plastic waste management infrastructure. The problem can be resolved, and sustainability can be achieved through recycling. According to Evode et al.(2021)), the adoption of recycling in Ghana will promote innovation and contribute to an abundance of recycled materials and new products. Recycling will require investment in waste collection and recycling plants. Ghana will then experience growth in reused products and work on developing markets for recycled plastics, which will move the nation towards achieving a sustainable economy. Sharma (2023) suggests that recycling will also allow collaboration and partnership of shareholders where the government will work with businesses and non-profit organizations by sharing resources, knowledge, and expertise, resulting in market expansion and development of new business models that focus on plastic waste. According to De Bellis (2020), recycling will lead to sustainability by reducing waste management costs and saving on raw materials, energy, and other ecological liabilities.
Comparison to Germany in terms of objectives
Like Ghana, Germany previously faced a growing problem with plastic waste. Of the millions of tons of plastic waste produced, only a tiny fraction was recycled, while the rest was disposed of in landfills, oceans, and rivers. Witheford (2018) shows that Germany is currently celebrated globally as a leader in recycling. Over the years, Germany adopted strategies that significantly improved waste management and increased recycling rates (Debrah, Vidal, and Dinis, 2021). Thus, Germany is an example that can be emulated and used to pave the way for understating an efficient and effective waste management system.
Introduction to the Pfand System from Germany to Ghana
One of the effective strategies used in Germany in plastic waste management is the bottle return system, also known as the Pfand system. It involves sorting trash by classifying bottles with a deposit and those without. Bottles with a deposit refer to those that can be returned to a store to get back some money. They include beer, single-use, and multiple-use aluminum cans (Vanapalli et al. 2021). The bottle sorting system also includes bottles with no deposit, which can be recycled without taking a deposit. The bottles are placed in yellow recycling bins, including plastic milk bottles, wine bottles, and bottles from other countries, through an intense bottle sorting process (Sharma, 2023). The system elaborates with different symbols placed on bottles with deposits and diverse points of reference in businesses such as supermarkets, liquor stores, and designated collectors in other areas.
Objectives
The main objective of the Pfand system is to provide raw materials for German industry while the excess materials are exported for use in other countries. The deposits encourage plastic recycling and raw material recovery (Debrah, Vidal & Dinis, 2021). The system enhances the efficiency of waste management and reduces environmental impact. Advantages and Disadvantages
Some advantages of adopting the Pfand system in Ghana include a boost in recycling rates. Through the system, citizens will learn how to develop, understand, and accept a recycling culture. The system will promote positive results as the local governments will use the system to implement strict regulations on recycling standards, such as an increase in the number of recycling bins within the city for efficient trash separation. The government will also save on waste disposal costs due to the high amount of waste produced by bottles (De Bellis, 2020). Introducing the Pfand bottle system will boost plastic waste exports, improve recycling processes, and help citizens develop environmental awareness (Witheford, 2018). A disadvantage of the Pfand system to Ghana may be a lack of customers for plastic waste and resistance to plastic waste in other countries. The system will also fail to incentivize the government to go green, resulting in a loss of deposits for unreturned bottles (Evode et al., 2021). However, implementing the German system in Ghana will be successful and help address plastic waste menace.
Problems with Pfand in Ghana
Various problems are likely to arise with adopting the Pfand system in Ghana. With a high unemployment rate and neglected older people, bottle collection is expected to be associated with an activity for the poor and helpless, turning bottle recycling into a competitive sport (Sharma, 2023). The system will also reduce the number of recyclable bottles in Ghana. Additionally, setting up the infrastructure for deposit return will be expensive, requiring considerable capital, time, and effort, which may be challenging. Some companies may also be forced to switch to non-reusable bottles to streamline the return process, which contradicts the system’s objective to increase the use of environmentally friendly products.
Solutions
The problems and complexities in managing plastic waste through the Pfand system in Ghana can be resolved by adopting the system and streamlining it to address the issue of plastic waste in Ghana and increase recycling. In Germany, the high rate of poor engagement in collecting and returning bottles through the Pfand system indicates the presence of an adequate social system with many striving to survive. Overall, adopting the system in Ghana will promote a recycling culture, save resources that would have been used in waste disposal, and offer an effective and efficient plastic waste management system.
