CLOSING THE LOOP

Scaling up Innovation to Tackle Marine Plastic Pollution in ASEAN Cities

South East Asian countries contribute to over half of land-based sources of marine plastic pollution globally. Fast growing cities with underdeveloped waste management systems in South East Asia are responsible for as much as 60% of plastic waste leakage into the environment, with 75% of land-based sources of marine plastic pollution coming from uncollected waste and 25% comes from leakages in the municipal waste management systems. Plastic pollution is also trans boundary — up to 95% of plastic in our ocean is transported by ten major rivers, eight of which are in Asia.

In response to this challenge, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in partnership with the Government of Japan are undertaking a new project which will reduce the environmental impact of cities in ASEAN by addressing plastic waste pollution and leakages into the marine environment. In support of the local implementation of the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris, as well as the commitment of G20 leaders to tackle the proliferation of plastic litter through the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, the project aims to make municipal plastic waste management processes more circular to increase the rate of recovery and reduce the leakage of plastics into the marine environment, supporting the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 11, 12 and 14.