Fighting for Trash Free Seas®

Ending the flow of trash at the source

Trash Free Seas Alliance®

Ocean Conservancy hosted the Trash Free Seas Alliance® from 2012-2022. During its ten years, it focused on innovative and pragmatic solutions to rid the ocean of plastic pollution and other forms of marine debris. Through the Trash Free Seas Alliance®, corporate members collectively committed millions of dollars for research on ways to improve waste collection and recycling in parts of the world most impacted by ocean plastic pollution. Conservation members provided insights via research, policy recommendations and collaboration across individual initiatives. Many of the members also supported Circulate Capital and The Circulate Initiative, the investment management firms created in partnership with Ocean Conservancy and Closed Loop Partners dedicated to financing companies, projects and infrastructure to prevent ocean plastic pollution. Highlights from the TFSA’s active years are below, noted in the form of Signature Initiatives.

Signature Initiatives

ASPPIRe: Advancing Solutions to Plastic Pollution through Inclusive Recycling

In many parts of the world most impacted by plastic pollution, local governments don’t have the resources to collect and manage all the waste and plastic generated. It is estimated that 2 billion people do not have access to organized waste collection services. Unfortunately, that means vast amounts of uncollected plastic and other types of pollution wash into sewers and through waterways into the ocean.

Ocean Conservancy supports policy measures to reduce the number of plastics being produced, particularly the amount of single-use plastics, and supports a transition to reuse/refill/repair systems. In the meantime, much work can be done to support improved collection and management—and the people working in these fields.

Informal waste collectors, or waste pickers, in many of these same places earn their living by collecting discarded plastic products—mostly “high-value” items like bottles—and selling them to recycling facilities. It is not uncommon for waste pickers to have no formal identification, and to lack access to health services and education; their income levels are often unstable and working conditions can be unsafe. And yet, waste pickers are providing a vital service and should be recognized for their critical contributions to waste management, and recycling, in particular. According to the International Labor Organization, an estimated 15-20 million informal sector waste collectors are responsible for nearly 60% of all plastics collected globally for recycling (Lau et al. 2020).

How We Can Help:

Ocean Conservancy released a preliminary report in 2020 that identified opportunities to improve the health, safety and income of informal waste collectors in parts of the world most impacted by plastic pollution, while helping to keep plastics out of waterways and eventually the ocean.

The report recommended three areas for action:

Provide the informal sector workforce with information, skills, technology and equipment through existing support organizations
Expand informal sector processing capacity of low-value plastics (plastics not currently being collected)
Stabilize the market for low-value plastics at a level that will encourage collection and maximize income to provide meaningful economic gains for workers

Trash Free Seas Alliance® members decided to put the recommendations into action and created: ASPPIRe (Advancing Solutions to Plastic Pollution through Inclusive Recycling). ASPPIRe piloted new models in Vietnam and Colombia through an innovative partnership with Inclusive Waste Recycling Consortium (iWrc), an experienced global organization leading efforts to bolster working conditions for informal waste sector workers, while also developing end-markets for low-value plastics like plastic bags and films.

The project launched publicly in April 2021 at the World Circular Economy Forum + Climate.

Plastics Policy Playbook (2019)

Investing in waste management is critical; however, additional measures will be needed. The Plastics Policy Playbook identified four key themes to improve the economics of collection across the value chain:

Financing the collection via Extended Producer Responsibility measures
Reducing the production and use of problematic single-use plastics
Designing for circularity

The Playbook also identified engagement and inclusion of the informal sector as one of the key principles for success.

In 2020, the Trash Free Seas Alliance® worked with its members and Steering Committee to design its next Signature Initiative aimed at initiatives focused on the inclusion of the informal sector.

Circulate Capital (2018)

Armed with the knowledge of the financing gap for waste management, Ocean Conservancy and the Trash Free Seas Alliance worked to design and launch Circulate Capital. This collective effort aims to:

Build an investment pool and funding mechanism
Advocate governments to prioritize waste management
Test business models in high leakage cities

The Next Wave: Investment Strategies for Plastic Free Seas (2017)

This report helped us understand how to systematically break down the barriers to effective waste management that will ultimately stem the flow of plastic waste into the ocean. It highlighted that most waste management systems operate at a net cost and that to improve waste collection the economics of these systems will need to change. The report’s recommendations were taken up by the 21 economies within Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and endorsed at its Ministerial Meeting in 2016.