Big players join Closed Loop Ocean

Kimberly-Clark, Coca-Cola Co., Dow Chemical Co. and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) recently joined the initiative Closed Loop Ocean as partners, according to New York-based Closed Loop Partners. Other members of Closed Loop Ocean are Closed Loop Partners, Ocean Conservancy, the Trash Free Seas Alliance, 3M, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, the American Chemistry Council and the World Plastics Council.

 

Created during the Our Ocean 2017 conference in Malta, Closed Loop Ocean aims to identify, develop and facilitate investments in waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia. The initiative focuses on improving collection, sorting and recycling markets.

 

 

According to research, about half of the plastic that flows into the ocean each year - around 8 million metric tonnes— escapes from waste streams in five fast growing economies in Asia including Southeast Asia and India. The initiative targets to encourage investment in waste management and development of recycling solutions in this region.    

 

Closed Loop Ocean, an initiative of Closed Loop Partners in partnership with Ocean Conservancy, is designed to fund waste infrastructure solutions in Southeast Asia, with a focus on investments to improve collection, sorting and recycling markets, particularly across the plastic value chain.  And as research indicates that the majority of plastic debris originates from five fast growing economies in Asia—Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and China—the initiative will focus initially on galvanizing investment in waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia.