World Environment Week in the North West Region

#BeatPlasticPollution "If you can’t reuse it, refuse it!"

Wednesday

On May 30th 2018, The Greens in partnership with the Bamenda City Council, HYSACAM, MIDENO and the Regional Delegation for the Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) of the North West Region as well as other civil society organizations (OIPA, Better World Cameroon, SURUDEV, SIRDEP, etc) of the North West Region launched the World Environment Week in the North West Region under the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution” with the slogan “if you can’t reuse it, refuse it”

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This launching was during a press conference that held at the conference hall of the Regional Delegation of MINEPDED and which was attended by media personnel, civil society organizations, students, environmental activists and staff of the Regional Delegation of MINEPDED. Chaired by the Regional Delegate of the Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development and coordinated by the Network of Environmental Stakeholders Cameroon (NEST-Cam), the press conference feature questions from the media about Plastic pollution in the city of Bamenda.
This was followed by the World Environment Day Quiz which was written by more than 40 students and pupils of Primary Schools, Secondary and High Schools, as well as University Students.

Thursday

On the 31st of June 2018, the World Environment Day Team of the North West Region visited the HYSACAM Landfill at Mbelewa in Nkwen to assess the state and percentage of plastic pollution in the waste, as well as learn about how HYSACAM is managing the waste of the region.

Friday

On the 1st of June 2018, the World Environment Day Team as early as 09:00AM assembled at Vatican bridge in Bamenda town to clean up a plastic polluted river.

This was followed by a #BeatPlasticPollution advocacy march from Vatican Bridge through City Chemist Roundabout to the Bamenda Food Market where the World Environment Day Team cleaned another plastic polluted stream.

After cleaning the stream, the team rallied the traders for Mr. Green to give them a plastic lecture that focused on the state of plastic pollution in the city, its impacts and how to curb they can curb plastic pollution in their lives and businesses.

From the Bamenda Food Market, the team left for the another plastic polluted river at Mbengwi Park where they picked up all the plastic as well as visited a super plastic-polluted stream.
A stream in a small bush where tons of plastics gather in the river channel and on the banks of the river. It was a really terrible site and i felt like crying.

The team then visited the Nkwenti Environmental Protection Foundation (NEPROF) which is based in Mbengwi Park and has been doing some plastic recycling work by collecting the plastics from the super plastic-polluted river and recycling it into pavement bricks, wall tiles etc. At NEPROF, the team had the opportunity to visit their plastic waste deposition site, as well as their plastic recycling site where they do small scale plastic recycling using local materials. The NEPROF team did a presentation of their work and ended the day by providing us with some good “Achu” and vegetables and palm wine.

At NEPROF plastic waste deposition site

Saturday

On the 2nd June 2018, we had a series of radio programs and The Greens’ Green Radio program on Abakwa FM 99.0 was outstanding and had Mr Ebai Maurice, Chief of Information and Sensitization for the Regional Delegation of MINEPDED and Anye Soh from Better World Cameroon as main guests of the program. The program was anchored by Ngalim Franklin (Mr. Green) alongside Fon Thanian and for 1hour we were able to educate the people of the North West Region about plastic pollution and how they can beat plastic pollution.

Sunday

On the 3rd June 2018 featured the circulation of a press release signed by the Regional Delegate of MINEPDED for the North West Region calling on all inhabitants of the region to beat plastic pollution in the region. The press release was read all radio stations of the region as well as distributed to all churches.

Its 4th June and we are preparing to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day tomorrow 5th June under the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution” and the slogan: “if you can’t reuse it, refuse it”.
Stay tuned to updates of World Environment Day 2018 in the North West Region and I look forward to sharing information about the plastic problem and how we all can tackle the plastic problem.