Speakers at the 2025 Environmental Sustainability Summit agreed that the country’s ability to end plastic waste will hinge not on bold policy statements but closing enforcement gaps, improving coordination and fostering a national culture that sees plastic not as a nuisance but an opportunity.
Organised by Business and Financial Times under the theme ‘Ending Plastic Waste in Ghana: A Sustainable Future for All’, the summit brought together policymakers, academics, civil society and entrepreneurs to discuss solutions for the country’s mounting waste challenge.
The country generates over 1.1 million tonnes of plastic waste annually – more than half of which remains uncollected – while only nine percent is recycled. The environmental toll is enormous: choked drains, polluted water-bodies and coastal degradation. The economic cost is estimated at US$6billion annually, equivalent to 11 percent of GDP according to Environment Minister Dr. Murtala Muhammed.
