The policy, which would among other things, provide clear guidelines on the use of plastic and its disposal including recycling, would be made available to the public for scrutiny and additional inputs.

“You know a committee was formed to look into concerns about the use of plastics in the country. I’m informed it will conclude its work by mid-January after which we will solicit inputs from the public and organisations. We want to arrive at a decision that lies in the interests of all Ghanaians,” he added.

Prof Boateng made these remarks when he delivered his Christmas message to Ghanaians on Friday at a media encounter in Accra.

The meeting was to commend the media for playing a massive role in the fight against illegal mining and other forms of environmental degradation throughout the year.

According to him, the ministry aims to pursue carefully designed plastic strategies that would promote recycling which had enormous economic benefits.

He appealed to all Ghanaians to strive towards making the festive period pollution-free to consolidate gains made in ending environmental degradation.

“What I mean by pollution-free is we must celebrate the occasion with sound environmental practices. In that regard, we must avoid polluting the environment, particularly noise and air pollution as well as generation of waste. Let us turn the volume of our sound systems to reasonable levels so we do not disturb our neighbours,” he stated.

The minister noted that the festive period was mostly accompanied by excessive waste generation due to the consumption of various goods, and cautioned against indiscriminate waste disposals that further harms the environment.

“We should all endeavour to wrap our parcels with materials that are environmentally-friendly and make sure we dispose our waste appropriately. We must use firecrackers carefully and responsibly. Beach-goers are advised to be careful not to swim under the influence of alcohol and refrain from polluting the sea with unfamiliar materials,” he added.

He said the ministry was taking steps to address concerns with regards to the operations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), assuring that the public would experience a different agency in the coming year.

On the fight against illegal mining, Prof Boateng said despite the challenges, government with the support of all stakeholders was able to reduce the incidence of illegal mining activities.

He said the coming year would see the implementation of the next phase of the fight that involves examining mining communities, testing the quality of water bodies among others.

BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS