Known as the Buz Stop Boys, a group of mostly young professionals and tradesmen are leading a new wave of civic responsibility in Ghana, picking up brooms and shovels to clean up the piles of rubbish that are a minefield in towns and cities across the country.

Their initiative won the admiration of local celebrities and politicians – and even caught the attention of some teenagers from the UK who flew to the capital, Accra, to join the clean-up.

“Our aim is not just to clean the streets, but to change mindsets,” Buz Stop Boys leader Heneba Kwadwo Sarfo told the BBC.

“If we can get people to understand that keeping their environment clean benefits everyone, we will have a cleaner, healthier and prouder Ghana.”

About 12,700 tonnes of solid waste is generated in Ghana every daywith only 10% properly disposed of.

Fed up with the filth and the flooding it causes, the Buz Stop Boys make the rounds in Greater Accra two to four times a week to clear clogged drains and gutters, sidewalks and roads, as well as cut overgrown grass.

The number of volunteers will vary depending on who has free time that day.

A civil engineer, Mr. Sarfo formed the group in July 2023 with just five people. He called it Buz Stop Boys, knowing the name would resonate with the public.

“Rich and poor, everyone knows what a bus stop is,” Mr. Sarfo said.

His small-scale initiative has now turned into a movement, with more than 40 men and women – from midwives to carpenters to military officers – joining.

“Social media was instrumental in getting more people to join our movement,” Mr Sarfo said.

“Through our videos, we have managed to change the mindset of some people, but there is still a lot of work to do.”

It also led to a group of UK students visiting Ghana during the summer holidays to help with a clean-up operation in Ablekuma, an area of ​​Accra notorious for its waste disposal problems.

Mr Sarfo saw their visit as a source of inspiration for more locals to get involved.

“Don’t sit at home and say you don’t care. One thing is essential, without (the environment) we are useless, we are entities and we cannot survive on this planet,” he said.

Folk musician and human rights activist Sister Derby has thrown her weight behind the Buz Stop Boys, praising the activists on her Instagram and X accounts.

She told the BBC she was impressed by their “sheer selflessness” and she and her brother joined them one day to clean a section of a street market in the heart of Accra.

Star and businessman Shatta Wale also rallied behind the group, helping to raise 30,000 cedis ($1,830, £1,415) during a TikTok live.

“These guys are the real heroes. They are doing what most of us are too busy or too proud to do. If we all helped them, imagine how beautiful Accra would be,” he said.

Donations were supported by those of politicians.

Former President John Mahama – who is making a fresh bid for power by contesting the December elections under the banner of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) – donated 50,000 cedis, while Transport Minister Asensu Boakye – who hails from the National Patriotic Party, in government. (NPP) – gave 10,000 cedis.

Welcoming the donations, Mr Sarfo said the money was used to fund their activities – including paying for rubbish removal and buying fuel for their tricycle to transport rubbish to a landfill.

Politically non-partisan, the Buz Stop Boys’ sole focus is on realizing their vision of a cleaner Ghana – one street at a time.

“People should take initiatives because waiting for the government has not worked over the decades and records also show that in case of an environmental disaster, we as citizens suffer the most,” Mr Sarfo said.

“That’s why it’s important for us to step up and help each other.”

Mark Wilberforce is a freelance journalist based in London and Accra.