The 2027 Budget confirms the EPA will enforce the styrofoam ban from January 1, covering takeaway packs, cups and foam food packs.

Published 12 Nov 2026, 22:55 GMT

2 min read

Ghana Bans Styrofoam in 2027: EPA Takes Education to Tamale

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Ghana's ban on styrofoam products takes effect on January 1, 2027, with the 2027 Budget confirming the Environmental Protection Authority will enforce it.

Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson laid the budget before Parliament on Thursday, November 12. In the full Budget Statement, the Environment Ministry, through the EPA, "will enforce the ban on the production, importation, distribution, sale and use of specified polystyrene foam products effective 1st January 2027".

The enforcement follows "nationwide stakeholder engagements and awareness creation", the Statement says. The EPA has spent months touring the country to prepare traders and manufacturers, most recently taking the campaign to the five northern regions ahead of the deadline.

The Budget Statement does not list which products count as "specified". The EPA's own directive, issued in May 2026, applies the ban to all expanded polystyrene foam products used for commercial and domestic purposes.

The list includes takeaway packs, food containers, disposable cups and plates, and the foam packs used by chop bars, restaurants and street food vendors.

That directive also covers polystyrene ceiling and insulation materials, foam mattresses and bedding, and foam packaging used in transport and logistics. The only exemptions are polystyrene items used in medicine, laboratories, science and diagnostics, and even those need regulatory approval.

What vendors should do before January

Food vendors and shoppers can sample the alternatives at Onua TV's "Bye Bye Styrofoam" eco-packaging forum at the TV3 Executive Theatre in Accra on November 20, where banana leaves, bamboo containers and paper bags will be on show.

The EPA has told manufacturers, importers, distributors and vendors to switch to paper-based packaging, reusable containers and biodegradable products before the deadline.

The Authority's campaign began at Makola in Accra in July and moved to Kumasi and the Ashanti Region in August. The Ghana Medical Association has backed the ban over the health hazards of chemicals leaching into hot food and foam waste clogging urban drains.

What the budget does not say is what punishment awaits anyone still producing or selling the banned products after January 1, or what the transition will cost vendors. The enforcement detail sits in the Budget Statement itself, as do the headline spending figures.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Styrofoam ban takes effect January 1 as 2027 Budget confirms EPA enforcement

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