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The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Henry Kwabena Kokofu, has said that the Environmental Protection Agency has been playing the regulatory role for waste management facilities and activities through the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490) and Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (L.I. 1652).

He stated that solid waste management facilities are issued with the relevant environmental permits to help prevent environmental damage from their activities.

He also said that the Environmental Protection Agency has initiated several programs, such as source waste segregation and take-back systems, to help promote sustainable waste management models in the country.

He reiterated that despite the efforts of the Government of Ghana through stakeholders and the EPA, the country still faces key barriers and challenges like most developing countries.

Mr. Kokofu spoke to the media at the 4th workshop on the Global Forum of Cities on Circular Economy (GFCCE) in solid waste management through the Environmental Protection Agency and Centre for Science and Environment collaboration, which took place in Accra.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly Mayor, Hon. Mrs. Elizabeth Naa Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, also said the aim of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly is to create sustainable solid waste management, and their initiative in sustainable solid waste management is to ensure a clean and healthy environment for citizens and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the waste sector.

She therefore stated that the AMA has an ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 76% below business-as-usual levels by 2050.