WHEN THE EARTH SLEEPS LESS: CAN THE 24-HOUR ECONOMY GO GREEN?

When the Earth Sleeps Less: Can the 24-Hour Economy Go Green?

A few months ago, I found myself walking home past midnight after helping a friend move into his new apartment. The streets were alive—food vendors still serving waakye with boiled eggs, taxis honking like it was 8 p.m., and shops still wide open, bright and busy. And I remember thinking, “Wow, Accra never sleeps anymore.”

At first, it felt like progress. Like we were finally catching up with the rest of the world. A 24-hour economy sounded like a dream—more jobs, flexible shopping hours, better services. But as I got home and tossed my now-cold takeaway into an already full trash bin, I couldn't help but wonder: “What does all this non-stop activity mean for the environment?”

I mean, think about it. More lights burning through the night. More cars and delivery bikes zooming around at odd hours. More generators humming because, let’s be honest, dumsor still pops up uninvited. And of course, more plastic waste from those late-night fast-food runs. It adds up. Slowly, maybe. Quietly. But it does.

I’m not trying to kill the vibe. I get the economic benefits. I really do. Young people need jobs, and some folks only get a chance to hustle when the sun’s down—single moms, students, night shift nurses. But I’ve noticed something: no one really talks about the other side of it. The toll it might take on our already fragile environment.

In my opinion (and I could be wrong), we’re rushing into this 24-hour economy idea without fully planning for its environmental impact. Like, shouldn’t we be asking: How do we make this new economy eco-friendly? Can businesses that stay open all night run on solar or other renewables? Can we design waste management systems that don’t just overflow by 3 a.m.?

Let’s take something simple—lighting. Those streetlights and shop signs that stay on all night? They suck up a lot of power. If that energy is coming from fossil fuels, we’re basically burning the planet so we can buy noodles at 2 a.m. Harsh, but true.

And don’t get me started on air pollution. More night-time commuting means more carbon emissions. And the noise? Don’t even think noise pollution isn’t real. Ask anyone trying to sleep near a 24-hour factory or a nightclub.

But there’s hope. Some cities are trying to figure it out. In places like Amsterdam or Seoul, there’s a push for “green night economies”—where businesses use low-energy appliances, promote cycling, reduce single-use plastics, and enforce quieter, cleaner transport systems. Couldn’t we do the same here, even in our own small ways?

Maybe restaurants could switch to biodegradable packaging. Or fuel stations could offer EV charging points (okay, maybe that’s dreaming too far ahead—but why not?). Even something as basic as recycling bins on busy night streets could make a difference.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever care this much about how late-night economies affect the planet. But walking through Accra at midnight with plastic cups rolling across the road like tumbleweeds made me pause. It made me think: Are we building a future that works round the clock… at the cost of the very planet that keeps us alive?

So here’s the big question I’m still chewing on: Can Ghana’s 24-hour economy grow without dimming the environmental lights completely? Or are we just borrowing comfort now and handing over chaos to our kids later?

What do you think?