The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministries of Tourism, and Environment, through the Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project (SLEDP), Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSLP) and the World Bank with generous support from PROBLUE has yesterday, Tuesday, 20th February, 2024, begun a week-long “Go Circular Week event on plastic reduction and circular economy principles.”
The week- long campaign which was launched earlier on Tuesday at the Sports Zone of the Lumley Beach, will end on Friday, 23rd February, 2024, and “it’s set to raise awareness on the significance of reducing plastic pollution, generate support for alternatives in a bid to embracing circular practices, facilitate the use of environmentally friendly products and encourage new business solutions that create jobs while ensuring a cleaner future.”
The campaign is equally targeting plastic pollution which is clearly now established to be “everywhere – in the air we breathe, in Artic ice and high mountains, in water and in fish that we eat –and impose huge costs to the environment, biodiversity, livelihoods, and possibly our health.”
Project Coordinator, Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project (SLEDP), Mrs. Mary Jalloh expresses excitement over the launch of the week. She admonishes all to embrace sustainable practices, noting that “plastic pollution is posing a grave threat to Sierra Leone’s public health, local economy, and even its vibrant tourism sector.”
“Our goal is to reduce the use of plastic in the tourism sector in Sierra Leone and create opportunities for alternative more sustainable business models.”
The Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change in Sierra Leone, Mrs. Mima Yema Mimi Sobba – Stephens, says the day was important as it brought them together with the Ministry of Tourism and their development partners to launch the Go Circular Week. She points out that Sierra Leone faces a number of challenges with respect to environmental issues and waste management.
“Recycling is still minimal. Most of this waste end up in our landfills, oceans, beaches etc. Plastics are the most popular resources in the world today as they are cheap, easy to produce, durable and easy to carry. They are largely designed for single use disposal,” she reveals, stating: “Plastics have potential negatives on humans and animals. This is because their entire lifecycle from manufacturing to disposal greenhouse gases are emitted. They play a significant role in climate catastrophe. We are meeting here today at a time when the global carbon emission threshold of 1.5 degrees is becoming a daunting task. It’s against these facts that the international collaborations are ongoing.”
Minister Stephens discloses her ministry has prioritized the management of plastics by developing a National Plastic and Plastic Waste Management Policy funded by the World Bank.
“The policy was approved by cabinet on the 15th March, 2023. My ministry has sent drafting instructions to the law officers department in the Ministry of Justice to develop a bill on National Plastic and Plastic Management Policy which will be later laid in Parliament to become law.”
Recognizing the challenges that climate change is affecting the ways we live, World Bank Country Manager, Abdu Muwonge says the World Bank has a priority to care and do more for the environment. He notes that looking at what is happening in Sierra Leone, the devastation is around us- from cutting and burning trees to disposing waste.
To address this, Muwonge states that each one of us has a role to play in “tackling marine plastic pollution and keeping our ocean healthy is directly linked to the World Bank’s mission of alleviating extreme poverty on a livable planet as billions of people, especially the poorest, rely on the ocean for jobs and food.”
“The World Bank has supported countries in all regions in their efforts to address plastic pollution, at every stage of the plastic lifecycle, from stopping leakages to the environment to enabling a circular economy. Of the approximately 125,000 tons of plastic waste generated each year, only about 7,200 tons are properly recycled by local companies. Most of these items are SUPP and are used once or for a short period of time before being thrown away.”
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Nabeela Tunis, believes there’s an urgent need to address the issue of plastic waste in Sierra Leone because it’s a crisis that we are dealing with.
“In Sierra Leone, plastics are associated with major environmental challenges, such as littering the landscape, clogging waterways, intensifying flooding, and accumulating in the ocean. Most plastic waste is attributable to single use of plastic products (SUPPs), such as PET bottles, water sachets, carrier bags, food, and beverage containers.”
The Tourism Minister notes that tourism sector is the driver of the economy and a significant pathway for growth in this country. She adds that Sierra Leone has a lot to offer but fears the risk of losing it if we fail to protect our environment.
“If our streets, beaches, towns, cities, oceans rivers and seas continue to be littered with plastics our marine life continues to die we will lose the golden opportunity. There is more plastic waste now in Sierra Leone than before. We must take decisive actions to address this menace- let’s imbibe the act of cleaning up our environment. Tourism doesn’t thrive where we have a lot of litter.”
It’s observed that the tourism sector, though plays an important role for economic growth, has also negatively contributes to “plastic waste through single-use bottles, bags, and cutlery, among others.”
“Although a growing number of tourism operators are aware of the challenges associated with plastic waste, their ability to reduce the use of SUPP or use alternative packaging materials is currently very limited.
This is primarily due to lack of alternatives. When alternatives are available, they are of low quality or coming at an uneconomically high cost. Recognizing the challenges posed by plastic waste and the need for alternatives, the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Finance is implementing a program of activities. These include plastic reduction in hotels and restaurants, business support for micro, small and medium sized circular economy enterprises. and the implementation of the Plastic and Single-Use Plastic policy.”
Tourism Minister has however thanked the World Bank and the PROBLUE Trust Fund to take up this challenge.
She officially launched the campaign and declared 20th February as a Go Circular Day in Sierra Leone.
