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Abstract
Introduction
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References (43)
Cited by (7)

Marine Policy
Volume 143, September 2022, 105127

Reducing ocean plastic pollution: Locally led initiatives catalyzing change in South and Southeast Asia
Author links open overlay panel Jennifer Estelle Mathis a , Marianne Carliez Gillet b , Henri Disselkoen b , Jenna R. Jambeck a
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Abstract
Reducing land-based plastic leakage into the ocean is a complex interdisciplinary issue that includes technical, social and policy components and involves a multitude of stakeholders across government, private,
and non-governmental organizations. ASEAN national governments have made significant political commitments dedicated to improving SWM and recycling markets that ultimately strive to mitigate ocean
bound plastic waste [1], [2]. In support and alignment with ASEAN countries’ commitments to reducing ocean plastic pollution by improving existing waste management strategies and implementing innovative
reduction programs, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the Municipal Waste Recycling Program (MWRP) to help local institutions leverage their limited resources for
lasting impact and systematic change [3]. In this study, 27 MWRP projects funded in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam are examined for raising awareness, catalyzing behavior change,
strengthening the capacity of local governments to create and implement policy and regulations, improving communication across stakeholders, and empowering marginalized groups such as women and
informal waste collectors. This study is a quantitative and descriptive analysis that compiles data from the MWRP to understand successes, limitations, and challenges of these collaborative projects, and then
identifies overall lessons learned in implementing small initiatives to reduce ocean plastic pollution. The project activities resulted in over 7.3 million people engaged and 2737 jobs created the majority for
women and women in typically male-dominated jobs. Fifty-six new policies, regulations, or enforcement measures were passed and 82 new public with private partnership agreements were signed. A total of
11,087 metric tons of plastic was diverted from the environment and kept out of the ocean.

Introduction
Ocean plastic pollution is an urgent environmental threat, and globally, South, and Southeast Asia regions are currently bearing the brunt of the problem. The amount of plastic estimated to enter aquatic systems
annually from mismanaged waste is 11 million metric tons, and without an increase in our current mitigation efforts, this is estimated to reach 20–53 MMT by 2030 [4], [5]. The US is not without challenges in
plastic waste management, it produces the most plastic waste per person and country-wide and a small amount of leakage and export of waste have generated relatively large quantities of mismanaged waste
(1.13–2.24 MMT in 2016) [6]. Countries with less per person generation rates, but rapidly expanding economies and increased consumerism are challenged with the management of the growing use and
convenience of plastics as well. This situation has been further exacerbated by the changing export locations of plastic scrap. China used to receive 50% of plastic scrap exported globally by mostly higher
income countries, but after 2018, increases in exports were observed in other countries in the region, with some countries further refusing this material [7], [8], [9]. Although the plastic waste landscape is rapidly
changing, new opportunities are making way for circular economy growth through the development of new and innovative trends in plastic waste management and potential solutions. While abandoned and
discarded fishing gear also contribute to marine debris [10], [11], previous research has shown that plastic in the environment and ocean is heavily influenced by quantities of mismanaged waste on land [5],
[12], [13]. Although varying combinations of formal and informal systems for waste collection are in operation, there is still some open dumping in South and Southeast Asia [14]. Global production of plastic is
expected to double over the next decade and without aggressive interventions, inputs into the environment will likely triple by 2030 [5]. Declarations initiated at the G7 (France 2019)[15] and G20 (Germany
2017)[16] along with initial estimates of plastic entering the ocean globally and at the country-level, have created momentum for countries, regions, and development agencies around the world to address plastic
pollution in unprecedented ways [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24].

Multiple local, regional, and trans-national initiatives exist to reduce plastic pollution on land through policy implementation, awareness campaigns, marine plastic surveying and monitoring, capacity building,
and transnational collaboration [1], [2], [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30]. In the Southeast Asia Region, Indonesia and Vietnam have established national action plans to reduce plastic pollution [31], [32].
Indonesia aims to reduce marine plastic debris by 70% by 2025. The plan focuses on improving public awareness to inspire social behavior change (SBC), reducing both land and sea-based leakage, reducing
plastic use and production, and improving existing infrastructure between 2017 and 2025 [33]. In 2018, Vietnam approved The National Strategy on Integrated Solid Waste Management until 2025, with a Vision
up to the Year 2050, and later introduced a National Action Plan on Marine Plastic Debris Management until 2030. By 2025, Vietnam aims to build and develop mechanisms and policies on marine debris
management that will ultimately reduce marine plastic litter by 50%, collect 50% of abandoned or discarded fishing gear, eliminate single-use plastics and non-biodegradable plastic bags in 80% of coastal
tourist areas, conduct nationwide beach cleanup campaigns at least twice a year, and strive for at least 80% of marine protected areas to be free of plastic litter [32]. In the Philippines, The National Plan of
Action for Marine Litter, currently in draft form, has a focus on improving SWM and recycling markets, promoting a shift to sustainable business models, providing enabling policies for circular economy,
reducing litter from marine sources, collecting baseline and ongoing data on marine pollution and policy implementation, promoting a large-scale mass media education campaign, and conducting cleanups of
existing and riverine marine litter. The most recently developed national action plan for waste management in Sri Lank aims to phase out identified single-use plastic (SUP) items by 2021 and to achieve 80%
reduction in the production and consumption of all SUP [34]. Sri Lanka also aims to achieve 80% collection of recyclable and non-recyclable waste by 2025 and 30% reduction of plastic in packaging by 2030
via means of increasing plastic recycling rates, implementing monitoring mechanisms, legally enforcing EPR, enhancing knowledge and competency among waste management stakeholders, and establishing
finance and national reward schemes.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Municipal Waste Recycling Program (MWRP) in October 2016 to address, fund, and catalyze initiatives that reduce plastic
pollution. The program’s activities focused on addressing municipal solid waste management (MSWM) practices and reducing land-based sources of ocean plastic pollution in the marine environment in four
countries: Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. The Development Innovations Group (DIG) was contracted to manage the five-year program. After a competitive bidding process, 32 projects
(shown on Fig. 1) received grants of up to 250,000 USD over two years, for a total of 5.5 million USD awarded. Grant recipients included a variety of eligible entities: non-U.S. and U.S. non-governmental
organizations, private sector firms, community-based organizations, cooperatives, foundations, professional associations, trade associations, and academic institutions [3]. Grants were place-based projects
awarded to local innovators, including entrepreneurs and NGOs aiming to expand local recycling efforts and innovative waste management approaches that maximize job creation and economic development
opportunities, considering local social dynamics, gender, and youth issues.

In all four countries, the best proposals that fit the project scope were funded, so there was no particular distribution of type of project (e.g., infrastructure v. outreach) funded in each location. In Indonesia, the
program financed seven projects around the country, supporting community waste banks and innovative solid waste management (SWM) methodologies. In the Philippines, the program made seven grants to
expand implementation of the Zero Waste model and research to help address ocean plastic pollution in Manila Bay. In Sri Lanka, the program made grants for five organizations to raise awareness on proper
handling of solid waste and to collaborate with the public sector on SWM and recycling policies, laws, and regulations. In Vietnam, the program funded eight projects promoting behavior change and support to
independent waste collector organizations. See Table 1S for all grant and project details. This study seeks to understand successes, limitations, and challenges of these collaborative projects, and then identify
cross-country and cross-regional lessons learned in implementing small initiatives to reduce ocean plastic pollution. The locally led initiatives compiled for this study are in alignment with the National Action
Plans outlined above, especially in diverting plastic from reduction and recycling, and may help provide insight on projects and policies to implement in order to reach national action plan goals.

Section snippets
Methods
This study compiles the data collected over the five-year period from 27 of the MWRP projects (5 projects that were longer term research or policy-based projects were not included in this analysis and are listed
in Table 2S). Data analyses were then conducted to examine progress made toward the goals of the MWRP, assess the impact of the program, and share experiences, emerging trends, and lessons across the
projects. The first task entailed collecting all final data from USAID’s MWRP. The MWRP

Results and discussion

With 4.6 million USD awarded for the 27 projects examined, Indonesia received 1.14 million USD (~ 25 %), the Philippines with 1.09 million USD (~24 %), Sri Lanka with 0.88 million USD (~19 %), and
Vietnam 1.49 million USD (~32 %). The maximum grant value was 250,000 USD and the average project cost was about 170,000 USD. Over 7.3 million people were reached, either directly or indirectly (MEF
definitions are defined in Supplemental Material), from the MWRP program and 604,960 h of public

Summary and future actions

The purpose of the MWRP was to reduce land-based sources of ocean plastic pollution and this study compiled and reported the results and lessons learned. Waste management and recycling practices often
depend on the context at the local level. Thus, the need for improved and locally tailored waste management systems is more important than ever. When resources and time are limited, developing innovative,
long-term sustainable strategies that are efficient, effective, and economical is paramount.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Jennifer Estelle Mathis: Conceptualization, Data curation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Marianne Carliez Gillet: Conceptualization, Project administration, Funding
acquisition, Writing – review & editing. Henri Disselkoen: Conceptualization, Project administration, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing. Jenna R. Jambeck: Conceptualization, Writing –
original draft, Writing – review & editing, Supervision.

Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge United States Agency for International Development for funding this work and would like to thank the USAID team members who collaborated with DIG: Darren Manning, Clare
Romanik, Jeremy Green, Silvia Petrova, Ryan Weddle, Kishori Kedlaya, Brandon Bray, Collin Holmes, Kevin Nelson, and Jeff Haeni. We would also like to thank and acknowledge all of the grantees
(Indonesia: Yayasan Misool Baseftin, Yayasan Bina Karta Lestari, Gringgo Indonesia Foundation, Divers Clean

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advocacy to improve plastics governance. Still, the author concludes, this case offers valuable insights into the ability of South-based activism to not only influence, but also take a leading role in
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some areas have more/different litter than others and what, if any, are the implications for a more tailored waste management strategy. We surveyed twice each of the 35 sites we selected from the Lower
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items accounted for 66% of all objects collected. Cigarette butts were the most numerous among all items (28%) and represented 43% of the total floatable items, the remaining 57% being represented by
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results suggest the importance of strategically placing collection bins around properties with relatively lower assessed values, outdoor smoking areas, close to schools, and places where people
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