Accra, Ghana
Proposed focus area
A city river linking Accra's streets to the sea, where plastic travels from drains to the shore.
The Odaw drains much of the Accra area in Ghana. It flows through dense neighborhoods and markets, then reaches the Korle Lagoon and the Gulf of Guinea. The river is a link between the city's streets and the sea.
A 2023 study in the Marine Pollution Bulletin surveyed ten locations in the Odaw catchment in December 2021, from non-urban reaches to the urban tidal zone. Plastic moved most heavily in the urban river section, while plastic left on banks and land was densest in the tidal zone. Common items included water sachets, soft plastic fragments and foam.
It is a one-month snapshot of one catchment. Its authors present the method as one that other catchments could reuse.
We propose learning from groups already working on the Odaw, then exploring how simple, repeatable surveys of plastic on the banks and in the water could help local teams.
Prevention is the heart of it, because sachets and soft plastics keep arriving unless the sources change. Support might include practical equipment, data tools and help with organization. Any cleanup would be locally led, with a clear plan for what happens to collected waste.
River Cleanup is an international organization whose Ghana program focuses on the Odaw, combining awareness, cleanup events and prevention measures. It is not a locally founded NGO, and it appears in our directory as an organization to explore.
Ghanaian communities, researchers and officials know this river best.
The next steps are to meet the people already working on the river, learn what data exists and where gaps remain, and find out what practical help would be welcome.
Listings are informational and do not imply a partnership with Flow for Tomorrow.
Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway
An international organization whose Ghana program focuses on plastic pollution in the Odaw River, combining awareness, cleanup events and prevention measures. It is not a locally founded NGO.
Official website of River Cleanup, Ghana program (external site)
If you work on or live near Odaw River, we would like to hear what would genuinely help.
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