The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has released its Progress Report 2024: Evolving for Impact. In the report, the Alliance outlines an overview of five years of measurable impact as well as its new strategy to create a circular economy for plastics.
Alliance to End Plastic Waste
Alliance to End Plastic Waste releases its Progress Report 2024.
Setting its sights on larger-scale programmes, either in select geographies or focused on key challenge areas, the Alliance hopes to deliver high-impact systems that help to reduce and recycle plastic waste. Catalysing capital is set to play an increasingly central role with the Alliance expanding its use of innovative financing models and partnerships as it looks to help countries move up the recycling maturity cycle.
“As we mark five years of action, our focus is sharper than ever. The experience we’ve gained from projects across emerging economies has made clear what works, and where we must go next,” said Jacob Duer, President and CEO, Alliance to End Plastic Waste. “Our Strategy 2030 builds on those lessons, and we are doubling down on what works to drive greater impact at scale.”
Since the Alliance to End Plastic Waste launched in 2019, the Alliance and its partners have reduced 239,985.48 tonnes of unmanaged plastic waste and valorised 253,211.80 tonnes.
Five-year overview
In the 2024 Report, we learn about the Alliance’s cumulative impact and its growing portfolio over the last five years:
- Six independently assured projects, including the African Reclaimers Organisation in South Africa and Recicleiros in Brazil, highlight tangible outcomes in plastic waste reduction and recycling.
- Since the Alliance began, third parties and impact investors have funded US$610.89 million to help initiatives that align with the Alliance’s mission.
- The Alliance has reaffirmed its efforts to support women-owned businesses and improve working conditions for informal waste workers, with 2,134 formal jobs having been created through Alliance projects.
Looking ahead to the future
After reflecting on the first five years, the Alliance is set to evolve the way it works, focusing on delivering a stronger impact in terms of speed and scale, with the help of governments, development, finance institutions, and civil society organisations.
With this new strategy, the Alliance will shift to co-developing larger-scale, integrated efforts with more partners like governments and financial institutions, instead of specifically supporting smaller projects. These larger-scale initiatives will fall under two categories: country-specific, aligned with national priorities, or thematic, helping to address the global challenges to plastic circularity.
Key parts of the strategy include:
- Select markets will see a specific focus on the improvement of waste management and increasing recycling rates. India, Indonesia, and South Africa are the first countries to be selected.
- Focusing on initiatives that help to address barriers to plastics circularity, starting with flexible plastics.
- Catalysing capital through blended finance, concessional funding, and partnerships with both public and private finance institutions.
“By aligning industries, governments, and communities around proven solutions, we can accelerate real, global progress toward ending plastic waste,” concluded Tracey Campbell, Chair of the Board, Alliance to End Plastic Waste. “The Alliance will continue to drive progress on the ground while sharing insights with partners ready to shape a circular, more sustainable future.”
Read the full Alliance to End Plastic Waste’s Progress Report 2024 for more information.