The initiative, is on the theme: “Promoting Environmental Sustainability: a Collective Responsibility.” Mr Ebenezer Faulkner, Managing Director, Vivo Energy said waste management was an issue in Africa that threatened the beauty of the continent due to the indiscriminate disposal of waste particularly plastic.

He said Ghana was still facing serious challenges in finding a sustainable solution to the plastic war, despite many laudable efforts by the government to solve the plastic menace. He said inappropriate waste management in some schools, was one of the factors leading to decline in environmental health standards.

“In some schools, the unavailability or inadequate waste bins and budget for weekly waste collection has been a challenge and as a result, wastes are piled up for a number of weeks before pick-ups are done.”

Selected schools for the pilot are; A.M.E Zion A School, A.M.E Zion B School, AME Zion C School, Nii Kojo Ababio Basic School, St. George’s Anglican School and Korle Gonno R.C. School.  He said the programme would be extended to include more schools such as Martyr of Uganda, SDA, Bishop Mixed, Bishop Girls and Nii Odartey Lamptey Basic Schools in Accra.

“We believe that by educating our school children on the effects of improper waste disposal and inculcating proper waste segregation in them, it will have a generational effect and reduce the filth in our society.”

Since the initiative was piloted last year, with six participating schools, namely Nii Kojo Ababio Basic School, A.M.E Zion Cluster of schools, St. Georges Anglican School and Korle Gonno R/C Boys School, a total of 4.84tonnes of waste made up of 3.81 tonnes of plastics and l.04tonnes of paper were collected and recycled.

He said Vivo Energy had been relentless in its efforts to institute people-centred sustainable development initiatives in the communities where it operates.  “As a sign of our commitment to maintaining a clean environment, we will be donating customised waste segregation bins to all participating schools. Our partner, Environment360 will ensure that the segregated wastes are picked up regularly for recycling. Together with your SHEP coordinators, we will also develop environmental programmes that will engage the school children and stimulate their creativity in waste management.”

Mr Faulkner said Vivo Energy under its ‘Energy for Education Project’ had donated 3000 solar lamps to school children in the rural areas and the Greater Accra region.  The Accra Metro Directorate of the Ghana Education Service, Accra Sempe ‘l' A and B Primary and KG school, Anum Primary and JHS School in the Eastern Region and the New Takoradi Community library are all beneficiaries of the over 3000 library books donated by Vivo Energy Ghana.

Ms. Cordie Aziz, the Executive Director for Environment 360 said     the initiative do not only allow children to learn how to segregate waste but also helps them to lean the value of waste, adding that, it teaches them how to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.

Cyclean also support better sanitation conditions at each school, by providing regular and reliable pickups coordinated by environment 360. Madam Leticia Gall, Deputy Director in charge of Supervision and Management, Accra Metro said sanitation and waste management had been one of the problems faced by many public schools in Ghana and in this regard, appreciated the collaboration of all the partners in the project.

She appealed to Vivo Energy and Environment 360, to extend the project to other schools in future, saying that the Ghana Education Service was ready for such collaborations to drive sanitation and provide holistic education for students.