Together with collection infrastructure the sorting facilities act as a filter in the waste management chain, extracting plastics fractions that can be diverted directly into manufacturing or sold as commodities on the local or global market, thus reducing the quantity of waste disposed at dumpsites or littered. Spearheaded by Fan Milk (a founding member of GRIPE) in partnership with Environment360 and WIEGO, a sorting center was built in Tema to serve as a pilot. The center which was one of the first of its kind in Ghana has been in operation since 2018, supporting waste pickers from Tema Newtown. Plastics collected door-to- door or through one of the collection systems in place are taken to the sorting center where they are finely sorted, packaged and sold to recycling plants.
