Teshie LEKMA 12 Junior High School (JHS) in the Ledzokuku Municipality of the Greater Accra Region has emerged the ultimate winner of the Waste Segregation and Innovation Challenge held in Accra.
The school, represented by Bryn Asiedu, Gloria Azor and Gilbert Acquah, all Form Two students, pitched durable bricks made from plastics and sand to the judges to clinch the overall innovation award.
For their sterling performance, the team received a trophy, a laptop and a GH¢5,000 seed fund to help establish a hub to reproduce and sustain their innovation.
Other winners were Teshie Salem Presbyterian JHS, which placed second and received a GH¢4,000 seed fund, while Teshie LEKMA 5 JHS came third and was awarded a GH¢3,000 seed fund.
In all, 42 basic schools selected from four municipalities in the Greater Accra Region — La-Nkwantanang-Madina, Krowor, Ledzokuku and Korle Klottey — participated in the competition.
The challenge, dubbed “Chaley, Sort It Out!” is a school-based environmental education and innovation initiative implemented by StratNova in partnership with Mohinani Group.
The initiative is designed to promote practical waste segregation, recycling awareness and student-led sustainability solutions across primary and junior high schools.
Transforming plastic
Speaking to the media at the climax of the challenge in Accra, the Head of Human Resources at the Manufacturing Division of Mohinani Group, Theodora Idun, described the initiative as a comprehensive school-based waste management and recycling competition designed to instil environmental responsibility among children at an early age.
She explained that the programme was implemented in three phases, beginning with seminars and structured training sessions where pupils from basic and junior high schools across Accra were educated on waste segregation, recycling practices and the different types of waste.
She said the second phase encouraged students to apply their creativity by transforming plastic and other waste materials into innovative, practical products, reinforcing the message that waste is a resource.
She said the final stage brought participating schools together at an innovation hub to exhibit items such as bags, chairs and shoe racks before a judging panel.
Promoting sustainability
The Technical Director at the Office of the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Cedric Dzelu, said the government associated itself with the initiative because promoting sustainability remained a core national mandate in the country.
He stated that the waste management and recycling competition aligned directly with the office’s objectives to drive environmental stewardship and resilience.
A Teacher at Teshie LEKMA 12 JHS, Patience Crowey, explained that her students developed a pavement block made from melted plastic waste as an innovative response to the plastic menace.
She said the team collected bottles, removed labels and covers, melted the plastics and mixed them with sieved sand before moulding the blocks.
