honorable mention
Muntaka Chasant ghana
title
Plastic Crisis: Men On The Front Lines
Accra is the capital city of Ghana.
The Korle Lagoon is a major outlet to the sea for Accra, collecting all kinds of debris, including solid waste, from the city’s drainage systems. Some scholars have previously referred to it as one of the most polluted water bodies on earth.
Risking injury, Kwabena swims in the heavily polluted lagoon to collect polyethylene terephthalate bottles, which he later sells for pennies. He depends on this and other hazardous works to feed himself and his family.
One of the photographs depicts Kwabena gasping for breath as he held on tightly to plastics in a sack even as he nearly submerged in the lagoon.
Kwabena is also an aspiring musician and normally heads to a nearby recording studio in the Sodom and Gomorrah (Agbogbloshie) slum to rehearse when he’s able to make enough to live through the day.
The plastic bottles sold for around $0.17 per kilo before COVID-19 outbreak, but things are worse now as the pandemic has crippled recycling efforts.
Scavengers are major stakeholders in the informal plastic recovery industry worldwide. They make significant economic and environmental contributions, yet their role is not recognized and appreciated.
They help to reduce waste, cost of cleanups and supply secondary materials to industries.
Cities remain unfriendly to the urban poor. Marginalized and excluded, the role they play in society frequently gets lost in stereotypes and narratives that disregard their contribution to the community in which they live.
They are critical stakeholders amid various efforts against climate change and the scourge of plastics on the environment.
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entry description
To survive in a cold, harsh urban environment, Kwabena Akese, 25 years old, spends his days hoping for the rain to cause the plastic waste dumped in Accra’s waterways to flow into the heavily polluted Korle Lagoon.Accra is the capital city of Ghana.
The Korle Lagoon is a major outlet to the sea for Accra, collecting all kinds of debris, including solid waste, from the city’s drainage systems. Some scholars have previously referred to it as one of the most polluted water bodies on earth.
Risking injury, Kwabena swims in the heavily polluted lagoon to collect polyethylene terephthalate bottles, which he later sells for pennies. He depends on this and other hazardous works to feed himself and his family.
One of the photographs depicts Kwabena gasping for breath as he held on tightly to plastics in a sack even as he nearly submerged in the lagoon.
Kwabena is also an aspiring musician and normally heads to a nearby recording studio in the Sodom and Gomorrah (Agbogbloshie) slum to rehearse when he’s able to make enough to live through the day.
The plastic bottles sold for around $0.17 per kilo before COVID-19 outbreak, but things are worse now as the pandemic has crippled recycling efforts.
Scavengers are major stakeholders in the informal plastic recovery industry worldwide. They make significant economic and environmental contributions, yet their role is not recognized and appreciated.
They help to reduce waste, cost of cleanups and supply secondary materials to industries.
Cities remain unfriendly to the urban poor. Marginalized and excluded, the role they play in society frequently gets lost in stereotypes and narratives that disregard their contribution to the community in which they live.
They are critical stakeholders amid various efforts against climate change and the scourge of plastics on the environment.
about the photographer
Muntaka Chasant is a researcher, photojournalist, and professional documentary photographer based in Accra, Ghana. His research interests and photographic work straddle human geography and environmental sociology.back to gallery