Green Skills Training in Ghana
E360’s Circular MSME Pathway provides green skills training in Ghana, empowering communities and entrepreneurs to turn waste into marketable products, close material loops, and reduce environmental leakage.
Business Basics
Pricing, unit economics, quality standards, sourcing, EPR readiness, traceability
Market Access
We onboard graduates into the Shop and pop-ups; corporate gift programs; compliance coaching
After-Care
Mentoring, bookkeeping templates, product iterations, MRV of volumes and income
Climate Education that Creates Jobs.
Circular Economy in Practice
Real equipment, real products, real markets
Peri-Urban Opportunity
Training and sales channels sited near Accra’s growth corridors.
Youth Climate Leadership
Students and trainees learn waste valorization, nature-based solutions, just transition skills, and climate-resilient livelihoods.
Policy Coherence
Our programs reflect Ghana’s NDC priorities (waste/circularity, SLCPs), evolving EPR policies.
Inspire, Equip, Promote, and Empower Communities
Waste management and Green economy growth, one program at a time
Adwumawura Program
Environment360 has partnered with Green Collar to develop and scale plastic waste collection and recycling facilities, starting in Tema and Dodowa, with plans to expand across Ghana. The project works across four plastic streams to generate both Waste Collection Credits and Waste Recycling Credits under Verra’s Plastic Waste Reduction Standard. A Plastic Credit represents one metric tonne of plastic waste that has been Plastic Credits are issued based on the volume of plastic collected and recycled above pre-project baseline rates. Plastic Program quality assurance principles ensure all Plastic Credits represent collected and/or recycled plastic waste that is real, additional (meaning it would not have been collected or recycled without the project), and measurable Project outcomes are independently audited, as well as uniquely numbered and transparently listed. See more information here.
The project supports local waste pickers and aggregators to collect bottles, bottle lids and other plastics like water sachets from the environment, and sort, clean and process them. Material that can be recycled is flaked, with some manufactured into recycled products on site, and the remaining on-sold to local manufacturers. The program supports the livelihoods of waste pickers by creating inclusive and safe collection systems that empower informal workers and have a tangible impact on local business, communities, and the environment. It also supports women and other marginalised individuals, who work with Environment360 to repurpose plastic waste into jewellery, coasters, combs and other products, for sale.
For project inquiries contact: contact@greencollar.com.au
To contact Environment360: info@environment360gh.org
For project feedback contact: Rene Dogbe on WhatsApp: +233 50 787 7887
Green Skills Training Program
The area of Tema New Town in Ghana has no organized waste collection due to inhabitants inability to pay. Therefore, waste is dumped along the coastal line or burned. Environment360 founded a Pick-it sorting centre in Tema New Town to improve livelihoods of waste pickers and support an alternative waste collection system that supports Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions. The IKI Small Grants project strengthens the capacity of more than 300 waste pickers in the Tema New Town and surrounding areas to scale their businesses and independently operate at the Pick-It facility. This action increases the overall volume of recycled plastic, to reduce plastic that is illegally disposed or burned.
Project description
- Initial Situation: Tema New Town is a densely populated coastal town with an estimated population of around 160,000 inhabitants. A survey done in 2017 revealed the average resident was earning 300 GHC (47 euros) per month. The area has no organized waste collection, as private companies have cited residents’ inability to pay for waste disposal services. As a result, residents either contract informal small, motorized tricycles to collect their waste, indiscriminately dump their waste along the coastal line or burn their waste. Waste that ends up in landfill is often not separated, rendering valuable materials such as plastics unrecyclable. The NGO Environment360 founded a Pick-It sorting centre in Tema New Town to enable waste pickers in the region to collect and recycle plastic waste.
- Target Group: The IKI Small Grants project targets 30 waste-picker-leaders with direct training and support. Afterwards, the leaders train another 300 waste pickers and act as multiplicators. This results in an estimated amount of 5,000 residents who have access to improved collection services through Pick-It Waste pickers.
A survey among waste pickers showed that waste pickers are often female and their age ranges from 20 to 70 with 50 per cent being between 20 and 30 years.
- Project approach and activities: The IKI Small Grants project strengthens the capacity of waste pickers in the Tema New Town area. The project helps them to operate at the Pick-It Sorting Centre independently. To support increased incomes Pick-It Sorting Centre provides technology (e.g. flaker), business and capacity training, as well as a variety of value added social services that support sustainable growth for waste picker groups. The project enhances the business and financial knowledge of more than 300 waste collectors to support the development of cooperative business models for municipal collection systems for plastics. Once established, the new business can increase the local recycling rates, reduce the waste incineration and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.
Environment360 uses a Training of Trainers format to improve waste-picker-leaders’ ability to grow their plastic collection businesses. They organise group discussions to co-design a business-capacity-training. These trainings include content on how to improve business capacity, enhance leadership skills, digital financial literacy, and planning skills. Other trainings focus on the development of operational and safety rules as well as practical skills to use the operate the flaker. The flaker transforms the collected plastics into flakes which achieve a higher selling price and thus increase the waste pickers’ income. The project develops and tests a sustainable business model through the identification of waste pickers’ priorities and the implementation of various actions agreed upon by the groups. Measures planned by Environment360 include the construction of separate plastic separation rooms for groups, provision of personal protective equipment and the registration with the national health insurance.
Environment360 collects data throughout the project to assess the impact of additional services (provision of personal protective gear, storage space, health insurance, seating, shaded sorting area, refreshments, transportation) on waste pickers behaviour at the Pick-It sorting centre. The organisation identifies key stakeholders along the plastic value chain and local government and invites them to review the case study and validate lessons. It also requests feedback on how these lessons can be scaled up to support the formalisation of waste pickers
Green Growth Collective
The Green Growth Collective provides technical, capacity and administrative support for businesses on the journey to sustainability. The collective is a group of businesses, innovators, community members and students who are seeking to improve their technical knowledge of circular economy and sustainable business practices. The Collective offers business basic seminars, tech talks and peer to peer learning opportunities. We also provide discounted office and event space, and access to our Makers space at our Green Complex in Dodowa. Members of the collective can join for free or choose a paid membership that helps them meet their goals. Find out more below.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Plan ahead and join one of our exciting exhibitions. Exhibitions are themed events used to illustrate the possibilities of recycling and upcycling within our communities. Our first exhibit starts the 16th of December with a fun Ankos theme! Enjoy your holiday with family and friends at our campus with a variety of family oriented activities. For tickets or more enquiries please call or WhatsApp us on 0244.669.851 or email us at info@environment360gh.org.
Training and Enterprise Partners
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Stories of Change
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Empowering Plastic Waste Pickers for Sustainable Growth
Transforming Waste to Wealth with Plastic Credits
Empowering Plastic Waste Pickers through Value-Added Services
Be Part of Africa’s Green Future
Join us in creating sustainable cities, green jobs, and resilient communities where waste becomes wealth.