While the use of plastic bags continues unabated in Ivory Coast despite a ban on their use since 2014, the Société de limonaderies et de boissons rafraîchissantes d'Afrique (SOLIBRA) has successfully organised a clean-up operation at the Adjamé bus station, not far from its Abidjan headquarters.
It is often described as the biggest shopping centre in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The council of Adjamé, with a population of 340,000, owes its renown to its many bus routes, which enable passengers to travel both within Ivory Coast and to neighbouring countries (Burkina Faso, Niger). But the traffic at Adjamé bus station is not all about economic benefits. Between noise and plastic pollution, the activities of passengers and traders are a threat to human health and the environment.
Aware of this situation, the Société de limonaderies et de boissons rafraîchissantes d’Afrique (SOLIBRA), based in Ivory Coast’s economic capital, has just carried out a clean-up operation with the help of volunteers from several social groups. These include the Association ivoirienne de valorisation des déchets plastiques (AIVP), the Let’s do it platform, which promotes public health and hygiene, and Coliba Africa, which recently set up a factory that recycles plastics into water pipes, coolers and even chairs.
According to Linda Okossi-Assamoi, Solibra’s Safety-Environment and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Manager, the awareness-raising campaign also involved the distribution of “cleaning materials, dustbins and a waste collection box” to users of Adjamé station. This eco-responsible initiative is helping to combat plastic pollution, in line with the commitments made by Ivory Coast and most of the countries that took part in the work of the fiftieth World Environment Day, to be celebrated in Abidjan on 5 June 2023.
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Development partners have not been left out. This is the case of the African Development Bank (AfDB), which has initiated a collection session for plastic bottles and bags on the beach at Grand-Bassam, a four-hour drive from the capital Yamoussoukro. An international agreement aimed at putting an end to plastic pollution is currently being drawn up by an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC). The text, which should come into force by 2024, covers the entire life cycle of plastics, including their production, use and disposal.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
