Alliance To End Plastic Waste

Clean up:we believe in supporting solutions that prevent Waste from entering the environment in the first place, funding the implementation of integrated Waste management solutions, and supporting efforts To establish a circular economy for Plastic. However, with millions of tonnes of Plastic entering the oceans due To mismanaged Waste and littering, cleaning up what is already there is of vital importance. Most city level projects include elements of clean-up. In addition, the Alliance undertook some specific initiatives addressing cleanup in 2023:saahas Waste management private limited (swpl), an enterprise that provides end-to-end Waste management services and works for environmental and social change based on the principles of a circular economy is driving the initiative To build ethical supply chains by training and upskilling informal Waste workers on their journey To become micro-entrepreneurs while diverting low-value Plastic from landfills and water bodies, which began in april 2022 and entered its second phase in may 2023. Both phases have focused on social inclusion for the informal Waste sector, including Waste aggregators and scrap dealers. Informal Waste workers are extremely significant in the handling of india's domestic Waste. Together, the informal Waste community and its value chain manages more than 90% of the country's Waste, estimated at 63 million tonnes a year, a number projected To grow To 3.4 billion tonnes per year by 2050, unless managed sustainably. Across the two phases, the project has worked with five micro-entrepreneurs in bengaluru, delhi, kochi, pandhurna, and coimbatore. They received financial and managerial support To formalise their businesses and enable them To move towards sustainability, while also ensuring cleaner and safer working conditions for the informal Waste value chain workers. These workers, in turn, help To maximise the recovery of low-value plastics including flexible films and packaging, diverting these from landfills and water bodies, To be sent for co-processing in cement kilns or To recyclers. The project has also provided the micro-entrepreneurs with training in bookkeeping, on health and safety, labour laws, and responsible Waste management practices. In phase ii, which ended in early 2024, the project team helped the microentrepreneurs To add value To the sourced Waste and divert a portion of it towards recycling. They were taught To use the saahas-developed digital traceability tool, tracer, designed To track the end-to-end movement of Plastic Waste, providing both transparency and access To data. For the Alliance, swpl is documenting their activities and lessons learned, enabling a deeper understanding of best practices and critical dependencies To replicate and scale an innovative approach To a just transition for Waste workers.the Alliance worked with vietcycle, a for-profit scrap collection and recycling company whose mission is To help develop a strong recycling industry in vietnam, with the aim of improving the working conditions and income of informal Waste collectors. Through the Plastic cycle project, over 1,000 Waste collectors received practical and valuable social welfare support for the first time, in the form of health insurance and monthly rent subsidies. They also received personal protective equipment. Funding from the Alliance has also helped improve the efficiency of vietcycle's operations with the purchase of two trucks and four balers. The first phase of the project was completed in april 2023, ahead of schedule, thanks To the strong engagement and grassroots work with the informal sector. That led To the approval of phase ii an expansion into ho chi minh province. The project concluded in january 2024 with a closing ceremony, during which the Waste collectors shared their experiences and the positive impact of the project on their lives. Working with african parks, the Alliance continues its support of the dedicated clean-up programme called basisa bazaruto in the bazaruto archipelago national park of mozambique. Spread across various islands and the mainland, the Alliance has funded a system To collect Plastic Waste washing up on its shores, helping To protect fragile ecosystems along the way. Alliance funding has been used To purchase a boat and vehicles and To build several sorting sheds. In addition, funds have been used To establish a brick making facility incorporating Plastic Waste, wih bricks used in african parks and sold on the market. The programme employs 50 people To collect and process Plastic Waste from the environment. These jobs are a critical lifeline for the local community where there are few employment opportunities.as part of a nine month collaboration with the Alliance, the african reclaimers organisation (aro) has been collecting Plastic Waste in mayflower in mpumalanga province and parts of johannesburg city. Aro is a Waste picker organisation with a network of more than 6,000 members, providing a vital link in the recycling value chain in south africa. As a result, some 4,000 people have since gained access To new or improved Waste management services. Where Plastic Waste was once brought To a makeshift base of operations under a highway overpass, it is now transported To a new sorting centre, which provides a safer workplace, as well as a space where larger quantities of Waste can be sorted and aggregated for sale. Plastic Waste is compacted on site with mobile balers making it easier and more economical To transport.in support of the bersih indonesia programme, the Alliance funded clean-up activities in 31 informal dumpsites in the malang regency, indonesia, diverting 13,500 tonnes of unmanaged Waste of which 3,100 tonnes comprised Plastic Waste. Working closely with the communities and local leaders, the clean-up activity is part of the bersih indonesia behaviour change campaign To engage residents in light of the new Waste system being created by the Alliance. The clean areas have been put To productive use, and communities can see what a future without Waste in their midst looks like.