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Plastic credits for profit and planet: unlocking a circular economy in the Ghanaian slums
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Researchers interviewed people in Ghana's slums to explore "plastic credits", a system similar to carbon credits where collecting and recycling plastic waste earns money, as a way to clean up communities and create jobs. The study found this approach helps reduce plastic litter and gives people income, but faces hurdles like limited recycling technology and few buyers for the collected plastic. This matters because less plastic waste sitting in communities means less of it breaking down into microplastics that can contaminate water, food, and ultimately end up in our bodies.
This study was prompted by the fact that plastic management is becoming a topical issue within the field of public administration. Research on innovative approaches to managing plastics in slums remains limited. Inspired by the concept of carbon credits, this study provides a scientific inquiry into the opportunities and challenges of plastic credit in Ghana. We adopted the exploratory design within the qualitative methodology to purposively select twenty-one research participants for in-depth interviews. The study established that plastic credit offered employment opportunities along the circular economy value chain, enhanced environmental cleanliness efforts, and maximised the use of plastic resources. It further revealed behavioural change towards plastics, a lack of technological capacity, and the absence of a ready market to enhance plastic resources as the main challenges. The findings provide contextual reality for future policy direction, emphasising that plastic should not be perceived as an enemy or threat, but as a resource. This study is among the few that empirically examine and advocate for the adoption of the carbon credits concept as a national policy to mitigate the spread of plastic pollution in a developing country.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.