Combating marine plastic pollution via societal engagement: Plastic Punch and Citizen science

Marine and coastal pollution is a major challenge along Ghana’s maritime boundaries. Many of Ghana’s coastlines are popular sea turtle nesting sites that have been severely damaged due to the abundance of plastic and other waste along the beaches.

Though waste management facilities are presently available, these facilities are insufficient in coping with the amount of waste produced in the country; hence, waste is dumped along the beaches and into the ocean. Public interest and awareness in marine environmental cleanliness are relatively non-existent. Plastic Punch is a non-profit organization launched in January 2018 in Accra, Ghana, with the goal of protecting the coastal environment and biodiversity; against plastic waste via citizen science to inspire behavioral change and sustainable waste management solutions as well as raising awareness of the dangers of single-use plastics.

Plastic Punch has developed a multifaceted approach to achieve societal engagement, centred around large volunteer-based, community beach clean-ups that are held regularly at various Ghanaian beaches. The waste collected is sorted by type (e.g. bottles, bottle caps, plastic sachets, and shoes), and recorded for data analysis to advocate for policy direction notably the Extended Producer Responsibility regime and phasing out problematic plastics, and subsequent recycling. Marine pollution continues to remain a global issue, and with the active participation of local communities via citizen science throughout the planet, effective positive change can become a reality.