Wooden Furniture To Be Banned In Schools - President Mahama
President John Mahama has announced plans to ban the use of wooden furniture in schools across the country as part of efforts to combat deforestation and promote environmental sustainability. Speaking at an event marking World Environment Day held on the theme Restore Our Earth: From Words to Action, in Accra on Thursday June 5, he expressed concern over the contradictory nature of ongoing afforestation efforts being undermined by continued logging for furniture production.
We have been planting trees and cutting them down at the same time, he stated. To address the issue, he revealed that a formal directive will soon be issued to halt the use of wood in the manufacturing of school desks and chairs. To reduce deforestation, I will issue a directive to stop the use of wood for producing school furniture. Going forward, we will adopt environmentally friendly alternatives such as recycled plastic or metal,” he added. President Mahama also announced plans to ban the importation and production of Styrofoam in Ghana, citing its significant contribution to environmental pollution.
Describing Styrofoam as one of the most harmful pollutants, particularly due to its widespread use in food packaging, the President stressed the urgent need for alternative materials. He added that manufacturers and importers of Styrofoam should prepare for the impending policy change, as the Ministry of Environment will soon take steps to formally ban both the import and local production of the material.
One of the most polluters is styrofoam plastics, where you go and buy your food, and they put it in that whitish something and you finish eating, you just dump it. That is one of the biggest polluters. So, we’re going to ban the importation of Styrofoam plastics. We have to use paper packaging or aluminium foil for our food. I’m informing the manufacturers and importers of styrofoam that the Ministry of Environment, soon we are going to ban the importation of styrofoam and production of styrofoam in Ghana, he said.
