The initiative was discussed during a UNIDO courtesy call on Ghana’s Embassy in Rome.
UNIDO and Ghana are planning to set up a Circular Economy Innovation and Textile Testing Centre to tackle textile waste in the country while creating industrial development opportunities.
Ghana would provide laboratory testing and technical services to support textile sorting and classification, identify toxic components and enable second-life industrial applications.
The proposed centre represents a core component of an Italy-funded UNIDO project implemented with Ghana’s Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry.
It aims at strengthening circular economy solutions in the textile and second-hand clothing sector, according to a report in a Ghanaian media outlet.
The UNIDO Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO Italy) is implementing a project titled ‘Promoting business and technology development in Ghana’s circular textile sector’ funded by the Italian Agency for the Development Cooperation (AICS).
Ghana would provide laboratory testing and technical services to support textile sorting and classification, identify toxic components and enable second-life industrial applications, such as converting discarded textiles into inputs for furniture, insulation panels, automotive components, paper products and agricultural uses.
Nearly 15 million garment pieces arrive in Ghana every week, mostly at the Kantamanto Market in Accra, with about two-fifths ending up as waste, leading to choked drainage, and polluted lagoons and coastal zones.
Ghana last year launched the Ghana Circular Economy Centre—a 7.5-million Canadian dollar project implemented by UNIDO over a five-year period in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, with funding from Global Affairs Canada. Ho Technical University hosts the centre.
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