Stakeholders in Ghana‘s waste management sector have called for accelerated action on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy framework to create an inclusive and incentive-driven system for managing plastic, packaging, and textile waste.
The appeal was made at a national workshop on EPR and eco-modulation organised under the Protego Project by Adelphi, an international organisation, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Plastic Punch, and the Ghana National Cleaner Production Centre (GNCPC). The workshop focused on advancing Ghana’s EPR implementation, which seeks to make producers financially and physically responsible for post-consumer product management, including collection, recycling, and environmentally sound disposal.
Mr Larry Kotoe, Deputy Director for Ghana E-Waste Programmes at the EPA, said the new EPR legal framework was being developed as a comprehensive legislative instrument to consolidate and expand product-based responsibilities across multiple waste streams.
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“EPR is not new to Ghana; we began its implementation under Act 917 and L.I. 2250 in 2016. What we are doing now is extending the product streams to include packaging, plastics, glass, metals, textiles, and electronics under a single framework,” he explained.
He revealed that the EPA had completed a zero draft of the framework, following a World Bank-supported landscape study on plastics, and was currently reviewing a first draft for broader stakeholder consultation. “We expect to engage stakeholders again in the coming weeks and target completion of the legal process by the first half of 2026,” Mr Kotoe said.
He added that the consolidated law would align Ghana’s waste management system with international best practices, including those of the European Union, and enforce principles of circularity and producer accountability.
Mr Moker Zurker, Senior Manager and Co-Lead for Green Entrepreneurship at Adelphi, emphasised that clear eco-modulation guidelines were crucial for producers, recyclers, and policymakers to operationalise the EPR system effectively. “Our project provides technical assistance to EPA to ensure these guidelines and tools are well understood and implemented,” he stated.
He further explained that the framework would clearly define who qualifies as a producer and could include importers, who would share responsibility for managing end-of-life textiles either directly or through accredited recyclers. The EPR system, he said, would introduce a financial mechanism funded by producer fees to support recycling infrastructure and encourage private-sector participation.
“Once the law is passed and financing mechanisms are in place, investors will have the confidence to establish recycling facilities. Government’s role will be to provide the enabling environment,” Mr Zurker added.
A participant, who preferred anonymity, described the dialogue as timely but urged the authorities to “move faster” in completing the policy process. “My expectation was that we would focus more on Ghana’s model and key performance indicators that feed into the EPR fee structure. By now, EPA and its partners should have a strong proposal ready for consideration,” the participant said.
He also stressed the importance of incentives, adding, “Companies that have already demonstrated leadership in waste management should be encouraged through tax or policy incentives.”
