A waste management plant being put up in Ho in the Volta Region has been touted as a game changer not only in waste control but also in the employment situation in the area and the region as a whole.
The Ho Integrated Recycling and Composting Plant (IRECOP), which is 85% complete is expected to generate over 700 direct and indirect jobs for the youth.
The number could, however, go higher as these jobs, related directly to the operations of the facility could be augmented by jobs created by service delivery to workers of the company in the form of food vendors and traders of assorted wares.
This was made known by Ing. Senam Tengey, Head of Medical Waste of the Jospong Group of Companies (Zoomlion) during a tour of the facility by members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) on Tuesday 18th October, 2022.
The Ho IRECOP is one of the 16 facilities being established by the Jospong Group in collaboration with the Government of Ghana.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his State of the Nation Address in 2021 promised to establish 16 recycling plants and 14 medical waste treatment facilities across the country.
Mr. Tengey indicated the Plant has the capacity to receive and process about 600 to 800 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day from the Volta region.
He explained that organic waste, which forms 50% to 60% of the region’s waste will be recycled and processed into compost material, which will serve as fertilizers for farmers.
“Other recyclables such as plastics, papers and metals will also be retrieved and converted into usable products,” he said.
He disclosed that equipment such as Uniform Drum Feeder, Primary Sorting Units, Rotary Screen, Secondary Sorting unit, Organic Star Screen, Magnetic Separator, 2D & 3D Sorting Units, Wind Shifter, Organic Quality Assurance Sorting Unit and Baler are being installed on site for the waste processing to begin in the next few months.
The Ho facility also has a centralized medical waste treatment unit on site which will be solely for the collection and treatment of hazardous components of healthcare waste, which includes used syringes, blood-stained materials, pathological waste, Covid-19 waste etc.
“The facility will serve all healthcare facilities within the region. An ultra-modern Microwave Treatment Equipment (Ecosteryl) is currently being installed onsite for medical waste treatment.”
“This equipment has the added advantage of recycling the treated waste to attain more value. The facility also has a Coldroom for waste storage and specialized waste trucks for transporting medical waste from the various healthcare facilities,” Ing. Tengey said.
He explained that the siting of the facility on the outskirts of the city and away from human settlement conforms to globally-accepted waste management best practices and ensures the operation will not have any form of adverse environmental impact on the community.
Technical Manager of IRECOP-Jospong, Ing. Owusu Sarkodie, on the other hand, explained the equipment being installed and its functions.
The presence of the facility in the Region, he said, will ensure waste is managed efficiently and effectively.
The PPC also visited a similar facility at Dambai in the Oti Region. Though work is just about 50% complete, it is progressing steadily and is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The group will on Wednesday 19th October 2022 visit the Jospong IRECOP facilities in Tamale, Damongo and Sunyani.