Zoomlion Ghana Limited has organised a massive clean up exercise in Madina in the La Nkwantanang Municipality in Accra to create public awareness on environmental sanitation in commemoration of World Environment Day.
The activities included weeding on the shoulders of the principal streets, manual and mechanical sweeping of the roads, waste collection as well as desilting of choked gutters among others.
The exercise was undertaken by staff of Zoomlion and it’s subsidiaries under the Environment and Sanitation Cluster of the Jospong Group of Companies in collaboration with the La Nkwantanang Municipal Assembly, the security services such as the Ghana Police and the Armed Forces who offered security support throughout the exercise.
In an interview after the exercise, Managing Director of Zoomlion, Mrs. Gloria Opoku Anti appreciated the workers for the expression of their social and community service spirit in helping actualise Zoomlion’s aim of executing the massive clean-up perfectly.
She stated that the motive for the celebration of World Environment Day was to create awareness and educate the public to ensure environmental cleanliness and proper care of the environment at all times.
She said the United Nations have earmarked June 5 for the celebration and commemoration of the earth and environment so as to raise awareness on environmental issues including marine pollution, human overpopulation, global warming, sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.
Mrs. Anti said this year’s event is being celebrated under the theme “Only One Earth”.
She explained that the work of Zoomlion and its relevant subsidiaries under the Environment and Sanitation Cluster of the Jospong Group of Companies in relation to safeguarding human lives which benefits the people of Ghana cannot be overemphasized.
The Managing Director also stated some interventions Zoomlion has put in place to encourage the preservation of our environment and the planet earth largely.
These according to her are environmental cleaning in all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDs).
She disclosed that Zoomlion has over 2,000 waste trucks and over 2500 tricycles across the country for the collection of waste and haulage to our recycling plants and the final disposal sites.
She said the company has collaborated with successive governments over the years to plant trees to reclaim the earth to protect the earth from further depletion.
“Tree planting is therefore part of our work culture because more trees means long life to the citizenry” she added.
Mrs. Anti further stated the spectacular effort of Zoomlion in making Ghana reduce plastics by recycling and turning other municipal solid waste into reusable items.
Mention was made of the establishment of three recycling and compost plants in Accra and Kumasi namely, Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP), Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCARP) and the Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECOP).
She said these plants produces quality organic fertilizer for the agrarian community who feed Ghanaians on daily basis.
Mrs. Anti disclosed that the IRECOP concept was being replicated in all sixteen regions (16) across the country which are at various stages of completion.
The Managing Director said her company has even incorporated liquid waste treatment plants into these IRECOPs and that already they have Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited which receives most of the liquid waste in Accra and another call the Kumasi Waste Treatment Plant in Kumasi.
Mrs. Anti said at the moment her company was implementing their One Million Bin Project
The good news according to her is that as the leading waste managers, “we have established a company that produces waste bins and we have about 1 million bins for distribution.
She appealed to Ghanaians to ensure that every household owns a waste bin so that their waste can be put in the bins for periodic lifting to ensure that the environment is always clean.
It is our expectation as we leave here that we all are by this exercise encouraged to keep the environment clean, and the only means by which we can keep the environment clean is by subscribing to Zoomlion for a bin for our households going forward.
She said the catalogue of interventions by Zoomlion as mentioned are measures which will help safeguard the environment and extend the lifespan of the people and therefore, Ghanaians should be inspired by Zoomlion’s contribution and do their part by just keeping their environment clean.