Global Plastics Alliance Activities to Prevent Marine Litter Grow to 355 Projects Worldwide

SAN DIEGO, March 14, 2018 -- The Global Plastics Alliance (GPA), a collaboration among plastics industry associations and allied industry associations around the world, released the 4^th Progress Report, summarizing the status of commitments made under The Declaration of the Global Plastics Associations for Solutions on Marine Litter, also known as the "Global Declaration.” As of December 2017, approximately 355 projects have been planned, underway, or completed. This represents an increase of more than three and a half times the number of projects since 2011 when the Global Declaration was announced. The projects vary widely, from beach clean-ups to expanding waste management capacities, and from global research to awareness and education campaigns. These projects have been undertaken by 74 associations in 40 countries from virtually every corner of the globe.  

“Our industry associations are actively engaged in solutions to address marine debris,” said Callum Chen, Secretary-General, Asia Plastics Forum. “Particularly in Asia, the plastics value chain is making strides to educate consumers and governments on the ways to keep plastic out of our environment. There is a pressing need for improving waste management infrastructure as a solution to this global challenge.”

“This latest report shows the progress made by the global plastics industry to help provide solutions to the ocean plastic problem, in every region of the world,” said Steve Russell, Vice President of Plastics, American Chemistry Council. “Since the 5^th International Marine Debris Conference when we first announced the Declaration, we’ve more than tripled the number of projects.”

Thursday March 15^th, Russell will participate in the panel Global Plastics Alliance Efforts to Address Marine Debris, which will discuss work underway as part of the declaration, including many of the newly reported projects. Other speakers will include Crispian Lao, Philippines Plastics Industry Association; Douw Steyn, Plastics South Africa; Karl-H. Foerster, PlasticsEurope; Steve Sikra, Procter and Gamble; and Alexander Turra, University of Sao Paulo.

“An important pillar of Plastics 2030 (PlasticsEurope’s Voluntary Commitment), is to end the leakage of plastics in the environment," said Karl-H. Foerster, Executive Director, PlasticsEurope. “We need to focus on long-term sustainable solutions to tackle marine litter. For this to happen, it is essential that the collaboration of all stakeholders continues by developing and implementing programs that address the problem at source,” Mr. Foerster concluded.      

The six focus areas of the Global Declaration are education, research, public policy, sharing best practices, plastics recycling/recovery, and plastic pellet containment.  

About PlasticsEurope

PlasticsEurope is one of the leading European trade associations with centers in Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan and Paris. We are networking with European and national plastics associations and have more than 100 member companies, producing over 90% of all polymers across the EU28 member states plus Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. The European plastics industry makes a significant contribution to the welfare in Europe by enabling innovation, creating quality of life to citizens and facilitating resource efficiency and climate protection. More than 1.5 million people are working in 60,000 companies (mainly small and medium sized companies in the converting sector) to create a turnover above 340 bn EUR per year. The plastics industry includes polymer producers – represented by PlasticsEurope, converters – represented by EuPC – and machine manufacturers – represented by EUROMAP. For further info see the web links: www.plasticseurope.org, www.plasticsconverters.eu, www.euromap.org. Visit http://www.plasticseurope.org/

About the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division

The American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division represents leading companies dedicated to providing innovative solutions to the challenges of today and tomorrow through plastics.  Ongoing innovations from America’s Plastics Makers™ have led to medical advances and safety equipment that make our lives better, healthier and safer every day. And advances in plastics are helping Americans save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease waste.  Because plastics are such a valuable resource, the Plastics Division is leading efforts to “reduce, reuse, recycle and recover,” including through outreach, education and access to advances in recycling technology. Visit www.plastics.americanchemistry.com.

About the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association

The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) represents the downstream hydrocarbon industry in the Arabian Gulf. Established in 2006, the association voices the common interests of more than 250 member companies from the chemical and allied industries, accounting for over 95% of chemical output in the Arabian Gulf region. The industry makes up the second largest manufacturing sector in the region, producing up to US$108 billion worth of products a year. Visit http://www.gpca.org.ae/.

About the Asia Plastics Forum
The Asia Plastics Forum (APF) was formed in 1991 and currently comprise 12 member countries – Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. APF was established primarily to share and exchange information of the plastics industry concerning amongst others, the economics and issues related to the plastics industry. Recently, APF’s focus is addressing the misplaced perception of plastics on sustainability via the global network.