Publications

The UN Environment Programme’s SEA circular project organized a virtual side event at the UN Ocean Conference 2022 on 29 June 2022 to address plastic pollution and discuss the way forward to tackle plastic pollution in the South-East Asian Region through collaborative actions.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines releases a report entitled “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme Assessment for Plastic Packaging Waste in the Philippines”. This report, undertaken with cyclos GmbH and AMH Philippines Inc, highlights EPR as a critical and effective policy tool in holding manufacturers accountable for the end-of-life impacts of their plastic products and packaging. EPR as a policy instrument also encourages adoption of holistic eco-design among the business sector. The proposed EPR scheme has been based on the findings of the first Material Flow Analysis of plastic packaging waste in the Philippines.

 A new report from WWF, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Boston Consulting Group finds that a new international treaty on plastic pollution would benefit both the environment and businesses, and accelerate global efforts to tackle plastic pollution.

CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, has provided the first ever global estimate for microplastics on the seafloor, with results suggesting there are 14 million tonnes in the deep ocean.

To address the need for a proper plastic waste management system, WWF released a report entitled “Study on EPR Scheme Assessment for Packaging Waste in Malaysia”. In the report, WWF identifies the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme as a critical and effective policy tool in holding manufacturers accountable for the end-of-life impacts of their plastic products and packaging. EPR as a policy instrument also encourages adoption of holistic eco-design among the business sector.

The recommendations are addressed to tourism stakeholders with the aim of supporting them to continue fighting plastic pollution during the COVID-19 recovery. This document illustrates how reducing the plastic footprint, increasing the engagement of suppliers, working closer with waste service providers, and ensuring transparency on the actions taken, can significantly contribute to a responsible recovery of the tourism sector. The document builds on the key concepts underlying the common vision for a circular economy for plastic, the One Planet Vision for a Responsible Recovery of the Tourism Sector and the latest available guidance from the World Health Organizations (WHO), World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and leading business associations. These recommendations should be seen as complementary to national and local regulations.

This report investigates industry tactics in the face of an unprecedented plastic pollution crisis and growing public pressure to address it. Based on research and investigations in over 15 countries across five continents, it reveals how – behind the veil of nice-sounding initiatives and commitments – the industry has obstructed and undermined proven legislative solutions for decades.

The 18th edition of UNEP’s Foresight Brief, Unveiling plastic pollution in oceans, gives options for accelerating progress on SDG 14, Life Below Water. It highlights the global concern on plastic litter and microplastics in the ocean and calls a comprehensive long-term monitoring and assessment programme. This Brief was prepared based on the findings of the report entitled ‘Guidelines for the monitoring and assessment of plastic litter and microplastics in the ocean’ published by the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP).

Based on more than 100 interviews, this GA Circular study commissioned by Circulate Capital highlights six key COVID-19 impacts to the recycling value chain in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, along with a three-phase plan to prevent lasting damage to the sector, protect the environment and local communities’ livelihoods.

A new INTERPOL strategic report on global plastic waste management has found an alarming increase in illegal plastic pollution trade across the world since 2018.

The report, entitled INTERPOL’s strategical analysis on emerging criminal trends in the global plastic waste market since January 2018, indicates that there has been a considerable increase over the past two years in illegal waste shipments, primarily rerouted to South-East Asia via multiple transit countries to camouflage the origin of the waste shipment.

The COVID-19 crisis reveals a clear truth about catastrophic risk in an increasingly globalized world: an effective response requires immediate, ambitious and evidence-based preventive action at the international level. To avert future global threats, including pandemics, we must protect rights to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment upon which we all depend for our health and wellbeing. A human rights-based approach to the COVID-19 crisis is also needed to address its unequal impacts on the poor, vulnerable and marginalized and its underlying drivers, including environmental degradation. The following key messages on human rights, the environment and COVID-19 highlight essential human rights obligations and responsibilities of States and others, including businesses, in addressing and responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ released Breaking the Plastic Wave, which shows that plastic pollution is rapidly outpacing efforts to stop it, and confirms that the vision of a circular economy for plastic is the only way to address the crisis at the source

The New Plastics Economy is a vision of a circular economy for plastic, where plastic never becomes waste. It offers a root cause solution to plastic pollution with profound economic, environmental, and societal benefits.

The study of nearly 400 scientific publications on marine plastic pollution in South East and East Asia shows that while a substantial amount of research on plastic pollution already exists, significant gaps remain that may limit evidence-based decision making. The amount and depth of research varies greatly across countries and a wide variation in methodologies limits collaborative action, data integration and the establishment of regional baselines. Understanding of impacts of plastics and contaminants on the marine environment, of social perceptions and behaviour change, of issues related to plastic behaviour, transport, transformation and fragmentation, and of sea-based sources of pollution remains limited.

The review was developed by an interdisciplinary research team at NUS led by the Centre for International Law, with support from COBSEA under the UNEP-COBSEA regional marine litter project SEA circular and support by the Singapore Maritime Institute.

The online inventory is available online at: https://cutt.ly/MLdatabase

A new publication - Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: from response to recovery - reviews current practices for managing waste from healthcare facilities, households and quarantine locations accommodating people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. Jointly produced by UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, the report considers various approaches, identifies best practices and technologies, and provides recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners to improve waste management, over the long term.