Trashy Bags makes stride in Ghana
By Abdul Salam Sule, Ghanadot

Accra, May 12, Ghanadot - Managing solid waste especially plastic waste has become a nightmare to successive governments in Ghana and it is no wonder very little has been achieved.

The problem has arisen as a result of high demand for foods and other items packaged in plastics. In Accra for instance, research shows that millions of waste are produced from plastic materials daily and it is often disposed of in open areas thereby littering the environment and chocking the city drains.

 The common known plastic materials that produce waste include what is known as 'pure water' sachets used to package filtered drinking water and fan-ice and yughurt drinks. The waste therefore creates unhygyenic scenes that are detrimental to the health of people.

The government at a point in time decided to ban the use of all plastic materials in the country but it stopped due to the convenient nature of plastic packaged goods.

But the unsuccessful search to finding a lasting solution to plastic waste in Ghana has partly come to an end with the coming of Trashy Bags.

Trashy Bags is a non governmental organisation which aims at ending the menace of plastic waste through recycling. With unbounded creativity and innovations of Mr Stuart Gold, the managing director of Trashy Bags, used and discarded plastic waste are transformed to material for producing bags and other useful products.

In an exclusive interview with Ghanadot at his Dzorwulu office in Accra, Mr Stuart Gold said, his quest to make the environment clean brought up the idea for the establishment of Trashy Bags which is 100 per cent produced from trash.

He said, once received, the sachets are washed three times before disinfecting and allowing it to dry. It is therefore sorted before sewing and assembled into a unique and useful bags designs such as tote bags, brief cases and many others.

He revealed, trashy bags has collected over 10 million used sachets on the street of Ghana and every sold bag gave them the opportunity to educate and inform the people about the dangers involved of littering the environment.

"We are not only cleaning the environment but providing jobs as well. By encouraging people to collect millions of discarded plastic and paying them a collection fee we are providing casual and supplementary employment and trashy bags has employed over 60 permanent workers", he further revealed.

Mr Stuart Gold said, it is important the bags from Trashy are patronised and the more the bags are patronised, the more the bags would be produced which would also help to make the environment plastic waste free.