By The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has issued a warning. It will crackdown on environmental offenders. The focus is on those who engage in open burning of electronic waste (e-waste).
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the EPA is Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse. She gave the warning that there is a rise in the indiscriminate dumping and open burning of hazardous waste materials. This activity is contributing to significant environmental pollution. It also poses a risk to human health.
Prof. Klutse stated this during a stakeholders’ meeting. The EPA held the meeting in collaboration with the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC). They met with the 29 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region last Tuesday.
The authority recognized the dire consequences of environmental pollution and the need for enforcing compliance. They collaborated with the Office of the Attorney-General. Together, they developed a prosecution guide for the implementation of the sanctions regime, she added.
“Under this programme of renewed collaboration, the EPA will support the review of existing bye-laws in selected hotspot districts. These bye-laws will include provisions prohibiting the burning of hazardous and other waste in the open. The EPA will enforce these provisions against persons and body corporates,” Prof. Browne Klutse stated at the meeting to discuss the prosecution guide and the modalities for implementation.
She explained that the enforcement measures were planned to extend to individuals or corporate bodies. Their land or property was being or had been used for burning hazardous waste or other waste in the open.
The law
She explained that the prosecution guide’s development aligned with section 3’s spirit of the Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124). This section granted the authority a collaborative and coordination mandate.
Prof. Klutse said the open burning of hazardous waste and other waste had become a peculiar challenge across the country. This includes e-waste and tyres. A multi-stakeholder approach is needed to grapple with this issue.
She explained that section 109 of Act 1124 had prohibited the burning of hazardous waste in the open. It was for that reason. Other wastes were also banned from being burned in the open.
“The law imposes an administrative penalty of 2,500 penalty units for an individual. It imposes 10,000 penalty units for a body corporate. These penalties are enforced by the EPA,” she said.
Good move
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Akweley Ocloo, said the partnership between the EPA and the MMDAs is crucial. It is essential in enforcing the law barring open burning of e-waste. This collaboration would help address the dire challenges confronting the region. These challenges are related to the unsound disposal of waste.
“Our region is rapidly urbanising, bringing with it significant environmental challenges, including the improper disposal of e-waste.
When not managed properly, electronic waste releases harmful chemicals into our soil, water, and air. This poses serious risks to both public health and the environment,” she said.
She urged all relevant agencies to work together. Local government authorities and private sector actors should also collaborate towards practical solutions. These efforts would ensure a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable Greater Accra Region.
