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The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Afotey Agbo, has urged Ghanaians to take issues of environmental cleanliness seriously, especially in the wake of the outbreak of cholera and the threat of the Ebola virus in the country. He said it was time the people�s attitudes and behaviour in relation to the environment changed for the better. Civic responsibility The regional minister said this when he paid a working visit to the work station of Madam Esther Vanderpuiye, popularly called Grandma, a plastic waste collector at Korle Gonno in Accra. He advised that people emulated examples in America and Europe, as well as other developed societies where one hardly found the citizens littering the environment. He said the citizens of those societies always fulfilled their civic responsibilities and as such local authorities were able to adequately manage waste that was generated, consequently preventing the outbreak of diseases. "We see on television clean cities in other societies and we can do same here,� he said. Nii Afotey Agbo said the recent visit to Agbogboloshie by the Vice-President, Mr Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, was a measure to strengthen the series of actions aimed at keeping the city of Accra clean. He noted, in particular, that the proliferation of plastic waste was affecting the soil and if care was not taken, a time would come when it would be difficult to grow food and that may lead to dire environmental consequences. Madam Esther Vanderpuiye The regional minister commended Madam Vanderpuiye for her efforts to clear plastic waste off the beaches and streets of Korle Gonno and Mamprobi. Madam Vanderpuiye said she took up the job of collecting plastic waste from the environment 15 years ago at a time Korle Gonno and Mamprobi were overrun with filth. She said she usually organised schoolchildren in the communities to collect plastic waste from the environment. She said fishermen at the Jamestown and Korle Gonno beaches had followed her example and were assisting voluntarily to collect waste from the beaches. She appealed to the government to assist her with vehicles to facilitate her work.