The visit of H.R.H Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, to Ghana in early November this year, presented the heir apparent to the British throne the opportunity to promote a cause he has been passionate about since the 1970s. Plastic pollution and how to rid the world of this canker.
This was at a special event on plastics pollution in line with the Commonwealth countries’ Clean Oceans Alliance pledge to cut down on single use plastic bags and eliminate avoidable plastic waste. The event, which was a private roundtable event in honour of the British royal, was themed: ‘Keeping plastic’s value in the economy and out of the ocean’. The exhibition, organized at the Sandbox Beach Club in honour of Prince Charles, saw Makafui Awuku, a YALI Alumnus, exhibiting some products made from recycled plastic waste.
“It was an honour being selected to exhibit my work to none other than the heir to the British throne, man concerned about plastic pollution for over four decades”, Makafui said after the event.
Other dignitaries at the exhibition included Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, representatives from the World Bank, the UN, and the Water Resources Institute, Ghana.
Prince Charles earlier interacted with some dignitaries and participants at the short event
The private exhibition showcased exhibits from some Ghanaian organizations working to provide solutions to the plastic waste problem in Ghana. These organizations included the YALI Alumnus’ Mckingtorch Creatives, that uses plastic waste for arts and products and Nelplast, which uses plastic waste to produce pavement blocks. Other selected organizations included Novpress Expressions, who run a hub for companies in the waste management value chain, Environment 360, and the Ghana Recycling Initiative By Private Enterprises (GRIPE).