Sustainable waste management in Ghana and beyond- The success story of Zoomlion
The mention of Zoomlion in Ghana today conjures visible images of men and women in their trademark blue attire with orange-coloured jackets cleaning the streets, clearing choked gutters, spraying mosquito-infested areas or clearing refuse at public functions and in the communities.
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They are usually seen with brooms, shovels and wheelbarrows, or paddling their tricycles carrying refuse or with their spraying machines at their backs engaged in disinfestation exercises. The multi-purpose refuse trucks of Zoomlion are common sights on the streets of every town and city in Ghana.
It is common to associate every clean-up activity by even individuals in their homes with Zoomlion. That is how big Zoomlion has become in the minds of Ghanaians. To them, Zoomlion is synonymous with waste management, good sanitation, clean environment and even good health.
The beginning
Little drops of water, they say, make a mighty ocean. This statement amply captures the humble beginnings of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, which was established in 2006 as a waste management business in Ghana.
Its core mandate was to help deal with the country’s waste menace and to also address the mounting unemployment challenges confronting the youth. It did not take long for Zoomlion to register its presence on the country’s landscape after mountains of refuse which had dotted every part of our towns and cities, more or less monuments of national neglect and hopelessness, were removed in no time, a situation which brought joy and happiness to inhabitants of the affected communities.
Apart from removing the heaps of refuse which had created environmental and sanitation problems for decades, Zoomlion also engaged in massive clearing of choked drains which were not only health hazards but also major causes of floods in Accra in particular and other towns and cities.
Zoomlion’s activities are not limited to waste collection. It is at the forefront of malaria prevention by undertaking disinfestation exercises to rid mosquitoes of their breeding habitat. It also organises series of public education campaigns to sensitise members of the public to best sanitation and waste management practices.
Modern technology
With the introduction of innovative, cheap and modern tools and technology, Zoomlion quickly matured into a giant waste management enterprise that provides integrated waste management solutions in the areas of waste collection, haulage, transfer, treatment, recycling of plastic and composting and medical waste treatment.
Zoomlion became a dominant force not only in Ghana but also extended its tentacles beyond Ghana’s borders. It now operates in five other African countries, namely; Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Togo and Zambia, with many others on the drawing board.
Internally, Zoomlion operates in the 216 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies with a total workforce of more than 200,000 created through various modules under private-public partnerships. It has also distributed over 500,000 litter bins across the country to promote and encourage best waste management practices among individuals and communities.
It also diversified into tree planting, landscaping and beautification services and beach cleaning exercises, all geared towards environmental cleanliness, good health and public safety.
Subsidiaries
In order to achieve its mission of staying at the forefront of the environmental sanitation services industry, Zoomlion has built 10 subsidiaries along the waste management chain. One of them is Zoomlion Domestic Services Limited, which offers door-to-door waste collection and ‘Borla Taxis’. These tricycles were introduced as an innovation in waste collection for inaccessible areas in the cities, towns and small communities.
Other subsidiaries include United Creative Solutions (UCS), which offers exceptional facility management services; the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant Limited; the Kumasi Compost Plant; Waste Landfill, the Zoomlion Foundation and ZoomPak.
The rest are Universal Plastics & Recycling, Yeeco Plastics, Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited, Alliance Waste and the Africa Institute of Waste Management and Sanitation affiliated to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for the purposes of meeting the technological and human resource needs of the waste management industry.
Awards
In 2016, Zoomlion crowned its 10th anniversary celebration with the commissioning of the Lavender Hill Faecal and Mudor Waste Water Treatment Plants. The company, which is a Silver Member of the International Solid Waste Association, and Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, its Executive Chairman and prime mover, have won numerous awards both locally and internationally. To mention a few, Dr Agyepong was, in 2008, honoured with the Ghana Order of the Volta by the Government of Ghana. He was also honoured by the KNUST in 2011, which conferred on him an Honorary Doctorate Degree. The Government of Liberia also presented him with the Golden Image Award in 2011. According to him, Zoomlion Ghana Limited will not rest on its oars, and it is well poised to tackle waste management challenges in Ghana and in Africa even more in the years ahead.