A Linear Model for the Collection of Institutional Plastic Wastes in Ghana: A Case of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR)

Abstract

The collection of plastic wastes (p-wastes) in Ghana has received attention in recent years. However, there are persistent disposal of the p-wastes into the environment with associated costs to life on land, sea and in the air. The collection of domestic and industrial p-wastes, con­tributes to the national recycling rates whilst the intuitional p-wastes lags behind with minimal backing and contributions. For this reason, the study sought to explore the structures required to improve plastic wastes collection at the workplace to enhance recycling and greener jobs. In the pilot study, workers at the CSIR-IIR were interviewed to determine a premier model for the efficient collection of the institutional plastic wastes. The methodology included random administration and retrieval of questionnaires, coding and tallying of survey responses, and the processing of generated data. The research questions bordered on the most generated solid and plastic wastes, the preferred mode of collection and the expected gains to the institution. Quali­tatively, plastic wastes were the most generated solid wastes. Purified water sachets formed the bulk of generated p-wastes. Source sorting was favoured over the mixed mode of collecting the solid wastes, which will contribute to income generation and a linear collection model. Keywords: Institutional plastic wastes, linear model, plastic wastes collection, source sorting of plastic wastes, model for plastic wastes collection.