By Alex Adi
Africa’s waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has advocated for an integrated approach to waste management that considers the interest of community members, women, and vulnerable groups.
Mr. James Deku, a Communications Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited made this call at the 29th session of the Conference Of Parties (COP 29) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Azerbaijan, Baku while speaking on the topic “Community-Driven and Gender Inclusive approaches to waste management for Climate Action “.
He said the waste sector is a major contributor to methane emissions which is a potent greenhouse gas causing climate change hence the need to manage waste in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders.
“Zoomlion’s waste management model is designed and operated in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, local authorities engage community members in cleaning their environment by using simple technologies”.
He pointed out that “Women are at the forefront of waste management in Ghana right from the household level where they engage in domestic waste management. This is evident in the huge number of women that are employed to clean principal streets in Ghana and other unskilled youth given the needed expertise to lead waste management in their communities thereby creating jobs for the vulnerable and unskilled”.
Mr. Deku mentioned that Zoomlion’s huge capacity in providing waste treatment and recycling is turning waste into a resource thereby reducing greenhouse gases associated with waste.
Dr. Sahar Sohail, an environmental scientist and member of the Pakistan delegation to COP 29 touted Zoomlion’s community-driven and gender Inclusive approach to waste management as one of the best practices worth emulating.
She said the lessons learned from Zoomlion Ghana Limited of the Jospong Group of Companies provide opportunities for collaboration to help solve waste management challenges.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC which brings together world leaders and parties to the Paris Agreement to help solve the issues of climate change.
