The US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) through its Vectorlink project, is recycling plastic and metal waste into usable items for the society.

According to the Chief of Party Vectorlink Ghana Lena Kolyada, PMI Vectorlink Project is proud to take the lead in protecting the environment ridding the environment of waste materials that damage it.

With the PMI Vectorlink project plastics like empty bottles, damaged plastic pumps and blurred face shields are de-labeled, shredded, washed, dried, sometimes melted and cooled into long thin rods of rubber.

These rubbers are cut into fine pellets for industries to use in the production of dustbins and showcase corners.

In the recycling process, the damaged steel pumps are melted and recycled into iron rods and other metal products mostly used in constructions.

In 2018, 711 damaged steel pumps were recycled into 2.2tonnes of iron rods for various projects.

Also, cardboard boxes weighing 8.2tonnes were processed into fine rolls of paper for the inner rolls of toilet paper and new cardboard boxes.

Lena Kolyada explained in an interview, burning these products release harmful chemicals into the atmosphere which gradually destroys the environment.

She explained the recycling process is part of their malaria project where they apply Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) in homes and structures especially in the Northern Region, to help control the rate of malaria in the region.

In 2017, an urban planner and research fellow at the Urban Planning, UN Development and Programme, Ms. Heather Troutman, revealed Ghana produces 1.7 million tonnes of plastic waste annually however, only two percent of the waste is recycled.

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng at a gathering for the commemoration of 2018 World Environment Day celebrations in Accra, also expressed dissatisfaction noting the two percent recycle is not enough to combat the plastic waste pollution menace the country is faced with.

“For those wondering why we go to such lengths to dispose of our materials accumulated, it is not only about protecting the environment, it is about the single effort that is required to keep our environment clean and healthy,” Lena Kolyada said.