The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) is an industry-founded and -funded

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

and

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization based in Singapore. Founding members include BASF, Chevron Phillips Chemical, ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, Procter & Gamble and Shell. Launched in 2019, the alliance aims to develop, deploy, and scale sustainable solutions to minimize and manage

plastic waste Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are cate ...

, particularly in the ocean. By fostering collaboration, innovation, and investment, the AEPW seeks to create a circular economy for plastics, ensuring that they are responsibly used, reused, and recycled. These solutions are based on the AEPW's four strategic pillars: infrastructure, innovation, education and engagement, and cleanup. The AEPW works with the World Economic Council for Sustainable Development as a strategic partner and the

United Nations Environment Program The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

. The group has been widely criticized as a greenwashing initiative that has not met ambitious goals for plastic cleanup, and using its lobbying power to prevent regulation of plastics.

Initiatives

AEPW has promised to spend $1.5 billion by 2024 to reduce

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

and increase recycling efforts. In September 2020 the group reported having spent US$400 million on projects in Southeast Asia, Africa and India. In November 2019 the group partnered with the ''Renew Oceans'' program to clean up plastic in the Ganges river. In October 2020 the program ceased operating, partly due to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the group partnered with the ''Plastic Bank'' launching ''Ocean Steward Educational Programme'' with the goal of encouraging kids to bring the plastic waste that they have at home to plastic collection branches at school.

Membership and collaboration

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste is made up of over 80 member organizations, including some of the world's leading companies in the chemical, plastic, consumer goods, and waste management sectors. These members are committed to investing their resources, expertise, and capabilities to advance the alliance's mission. Some notable members of the AEPW include: #

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

# Dow #

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

# SUEZ #

Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. In ...

Criticism

The group has been criticized for promoting a reduction of plastic waste rather than a reduction in plastic production. Moreover, the 5-year recycling target of 15 million tonnes is only 0.8% of the 1.8 billion tonnes of plastic waste production, and the actual recycling of plastic waste during 2019-2021 was only 4 thousand tonnes, compared to the 3-year target of 9 million tonnes.

References

External links

Official site
Plastics and the environment Corporate social responsibility Former international organizations International non-profit organizations Plastic recycling {{int-org-stub

Initiatives

Membership and collaboration

Criticism

See also

References

External links