Plastic Bags Slip In Through Ekok

By Ngosso a Ngosso

A ban on plastic bags went into effect on April 24, 2014 but illegal plastic products are still sneaked into Cameroon through Ekok at the Nigerian border. “We are still intercepting a lot of plastic bags being smuggled into the country through Ekok,” said Jean Fotabong Etem, Chief of Bureau for Sustainable Development at the Divisional Delegation of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development, Mamfe.

Manyu River, Waste Dump

Manyu River is not only a safe course for smugglers but it is also a reservoir for some of Mamfe’s waste, which makes the town look deceptively clean. The townsfolk unload their domestic waste at the John Holt Beach at the old German Bridge. The rest of the town’s trash is deposited at Okoyong, a few kilometres along the Mamfe-Bamenda highway. An NGO, MAFACIG, had been rendering technical assistance to the Mamfe Council in rubbish collection and disposal until recently.