Zoomlion establishes waste disposal site at Adjen-Kotoku, Thursday, September 2, 2010, pg 29
ZOOMLION Ghana Limited in a move to give waste management in Accra and its environs a boost, is establishing a multi-purpose waste disposal site at Adjen-Kotoku in the Ga West Municipality in the Greater Accra Region.
The $ 15 million- project which is expected to be completed in February next year would receive 300 tonnes of waste from Accra and its environs.
The project would house facilities including refuse sorting and composting sections which would help produce organic manure and also generate plastic waste for recycling.
At a public hearing on the project to educate and solicit the views of the host community on the project, a representative of Zoomlion, Mr George Rockson, allayed the fears of the community that it would bring to the communities, stench, insects and environmental pollution.
Commenting on the plant’s mechanism to control pollution, he said the waste collected would be covered in a manner that would not expose it in addition to the planting of buffer trees that would absorb all scents, heat and dusts that would emanate from the site.
The hearing or forum is in compliance with the Environmental Assessment Regulation 1999 LI 1652 which mandates the EPA to hold public hearing on such projects based on far reaching environmental implications of such projects particularly for adjoining communities.
It is also to provide a platform for the company to address key public concerns on potential impacts and proposed mitigation measures.
Mr Rockson stated that the projects would not only create an employment avenue but also help in improving the nature of agriculture lands in the area as it would produce organic manure for farmers.
Responding to questions from the residents, he said to cater for power outages and other emergency situations, a generator plant would be provided.
He said the company was also in consultation with the Ga West Municipal Assembly to put up a health facility in the area.
On jobs for the residents, he said more than 50 per cent of the jobs available at the site would go to residents of the area.
Mr Yao Doe-Tamakloe, the Chief Disaster Control Officer of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in charge of Man-made Disasters urged Zoomlion and the Municipal Assembly to involve the District and Zonal Co-ordinators of NADMO in the project to assist in the mitigation and reduction of possible pollution of water bodies so that in years to come there would not be rancour between the NADMO and the other institutions involved.
“We applaud you for giving us employment but our health and safety is also paramount,” he stated.
Some of the residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic commended the company for the initiative which would create jobs for the residents but appealed to Zoomlion to keep a culture of maintenance to ensure that diseases and epidemics are eliminated.
Available information from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) indicates that the Accra Metropolis generates 2,000 tonnes of waste daily out of which 1, 500 tonnes is disposed off by waste management companies leaving a 500-tonnes deficit.
The $ 15 million- project which is expected to be completed in February next year would receive 300 tonnes of waste from Accra and its environs.
The project would house facilities including refuse sorting and composting sections which would help produce organic manure and also generate plastic waste for recycling.
At a public hearing on the project to educate and solicit the views of the host community on the project, a representative of Zoomlion, Mr George Rockson, allayed the fears of the community that it would bring to the communities, stench, insects and environmental pollution.
Commenting on the plant’s mechanism to control pollution, he said the waste collected would be covered in a manner that would not expose it in addition to the planting of buffer trees that would absorb all scents, heat and dusts that would emanate from the site.
The hearing or forum is in compliance with the Environmental Assessment Regulation 1999 LI 1652 which mandates the EPA to hold public hearing on such projects based on far reaching environmental implications of such projects particularly for adjoining communities.
It is also to provide a platform for the company to address key public concerns on potential impacts and proposed mitigation measures.
Mr Rockson stated that the projects would not only create an employment avenue but also help in improving the nature of agriculture lands in the area as it would produce organic manure for farmers.
Responding to questions from the residents, he said to cater for power outages and other emergency situations, a generator plant would be provided.
He said the company was also in consultation with the Ga West Municipal Assembly to put up a health facility in the area.
On jobs for the residents, he said more than 50 per cent of the jobs available at the site would go to residents of the area.
Mr Yao Doe-Tamakloe, the Chief Disaster Control Officer of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in charge of Man-made Disasters urged Zoomlion and the Municipal Assembly to involve the District and Zonal Co-ordinators of NADMO in the project to assist in the mitigation and reduction of possible pollution of water bodies so that in years to come there would not be rancour between the NADMO and the other institutions involved.
“We applaud you for giving us employment but our health and safety is also paramount,” he stated.
Some of the residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic commended the company for the initiative which would create jobs for the residents but appealed to Zoomlion to keep a culture of maintenance to ensure that diseases and epidemics are eliminated.
Available information from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) indicates that the Accra Metropolis generates 2,000 tonnes of waste daily out of which 1, 500 tonnes is disposed off by waste management companies leaving a 500-tonnes deficit.
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