Five Solutions Shortlisted By FRESHPPACT To Mitigate Plastic Pollution in Ghana

FRESHPPACT, an Industry Research and Development Hub created by Blue Skies to find solutions to sustainability challenges, has shortlisted five solutions with the potential to mitigate plastics pollution in Ghana. 

Together with FRESHPPACT, the organisations behind each solution will visit Ghana between the 27th of February and the 3rd of March to conduct further research and develop detailed plans to show how their solutions will deliver maximum benefit for communities in Ghana. The winning solutions will go on to receive up to £200,000 each towards testing and implementing their solutions in Ghana over the next three years.

The visit follows a call for proposals that was launched in 2022. The call focused on finding solutions that address pollution caused by the manufacture, use and disposal of plastics used in agricultural mulch, workwear and food packaging. 

Our Approach

We have taken a Public-Private Cross sector Industry approach to mitigate plastic pollution in the agri-food sector in Ghana. Some of the key stakeholders on the consortium include Blue Skies Ltd, HPW Fresh & Dry Ltd, Primafruit, Fruveg Farms Ghana, Waitrose Ltd and Partners. Alongside these consortium members, the University of Northampton’s Centre for Sustainable Business Practices (CSBP) acts as the Coordinating Research and Project Management Partner (CRPM) for FRESHPPACT.

The Five Shortlisted Solutions

The researched and selected plastic pollution mitigation solutions that will be tested in this phase of the project include:

• the use of food waste to create alternative materials, such as coconut coir for use on farms as mulch (Greenshopper)
• custom-built machinery to improve the mulch collection process (Data Solutions Hub)
• biodegradable workwear (Multiwrap)
• plant-based packaging materials (Kelpi)
• paper-based packaging materials (The University of Greenwich).

In addition to the testing of solutions, our visit to Ghana will familiarise the researchers with the Ghanaian terrain, gain a deeper understanding of the fresh produce manufacturing industry in Ghana, identify key players, increase community awareness and develop full project plans to facilitate the commercialisation of the solutions for the next phase of the project. 

The winning solutions will be selected by the end of March 2023 and trials will begin in April. To find out more and to stay up-to-date on the progress, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram.