By Edward Acquah
Accra, Aug. 6, GNA – The Reverend Father Dogli Memorial Technical Institute in the Oti Region has been adjudged the best performing school at the southern sector STEM Plastic Waste Competition for Catholic Senior High Schools in Ghana.
The St. Gregory Senior High School emerged second at a competitive contest in Accra, where the students pitched innovative products made from plastic waste and ideas to address the challenges posed by plastic waste.
The other competing schools were St. Catherine Catholic Girls Senior High School, St. Michael Senior High School, and St. Margaret Mary Senior High Technical School.
Organised by the Catholic Education Unit, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and other partners, the competition created a platform for the students to develop innovative projects to tackle the plastic waste menace.
Among the products presented were plastic greenhouse, bags, baskets, raincoat, flower vase, bricks, umbrella, and materials for interior and exterior decoration.
Dr Joseph Agyapong Darmoe, Programmes Director, KAS, described the innovations as “surprising” and praised their desire to find solution to the plastic waste challenge.
He said the rate at which plastic waste was polluting the ocean was “scary” and challenged the youth to explore innovative ways and create products to help address the issue sustainably.
“We produce an average of 840,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste annually. This is more than the cocoa we produce and that is scary,” he said.
Mr Darmoe touched on the opportunity the contest created to help transform society and expressed confidence that it would ignite interest in finding solution to societal problems.
Mr Francis Batadjan, the General Manager of Catholic Schools, Ghana, said the contest was not just a competition but a “wake up call” to improve the management of plastic waste in the country.
He encouraged the students to explore more innovative ideas and contribute to managing the menace in their communities.
Madam Berthy Buah, Regional STEM Coordinator, Ghana Education Service, said the purpose of STEM education was to empower students to be observant and sensitive to the environment and find solutions to problems.
She said the introduction of STEM in environmental management would engender a sense of ownership among students in protecting the environment.
Plastic waste management is a major challenge in Ghana. Plastics are indiscriminately disposed into drains and water bodies, resulting in perennial floods across the country.
According to the Ghana Plastic Waste Management Policy Document, some 120 companies manufacture over 52,000 tonnes of various plastics and related products per year.
According to the latest report published by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), 88 per cent of marine species were affected by severe contamination of plastic in the ocean.
The burning of plastics, which is a wide-spread activity in Ghana, also releases toxic substances into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe