Plastics - ISLANDS

For the second year, Samoa Conservation Society has participated in the International Coastal Clean-up Day 2023 alongside the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
More than a ton of rubbish was collected thanks to the commitment of 183 volunteers who came to give a hand.
Together to make a difference!

Coastal Clean-Up Day 2023 was a success! Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Samoa Recycling & Waste Management Association (SRWMA), the Samoa Conservation Society, the Phoenix Netball Club as well as the SWAP Project, POLP Project, and ISLANDS Pacific Ocean and Plastic Tide Turners.
With 135 volunteers, 359 kg of waste was collected at Sheraton Waterfront Beach and on the Mulinu’u Peninsula, Upolu Island, Samoa.
Let's keep working together for a healthier, more sustainable environment.

The third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-3), is currently convening in Nairobi.

Before we delve into the new developments that come out of the INC-3, we can review the Zero Draft of the instrument which was shared on 1 October. What do you think will be the long-term implications of this instrument to SIDS plastic management?

Witness the incredible efforts put forth at the AFD-funded SWAP Project 31 SPREP Meeting Clean-up Side event in Moata'a village, Samoa!

This video highlights the hard work of our committed volunteers and community members together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and SPREP delegates who joined forces to create a positive environmental impact. Let's strive for a cleaner environment and greener future.

A revolutionary waste management program by Polygreen launched in Tilos in December, boosting municipal waste recycling to an impressive 86%. The island removed public dustbins, becoming the world's first landfill-free location. Residents, businesses, and the municipality embrace the Just Go Zero program, using unique waste bags with QR codes. A mobile app allows citizens to track their contribution to this zero-waste initiative. Sounds fantastic, right?

Waste is collected door-to-door, with a focus on summers when tourism peaks. Even island hotels participate in waste sorting. The circular innovation center on the former landfill site processes municipal waste for recycling, composting, or incineration. Tilos is demonstrating a great example of a waste-free island, and this model's potential for global application.

Are you from SIDS and are interested in helping your country better plan its plastic waste management? Are you keen to better detect the origins of the plastic waste as well as the leakages and hotspots in your country?

This UNEP/IUCN 'National Guidance for Plastic Pollution Hotspotting and Shaping Action' now includes a linear, step-by-step tutorial to support gathering and analysing of data to determine where, what, and how plastic is leaking into the environment.

This guide aims to help users visualise the journey from data collection to intervention identification and detailed GIS modelling. It elaborates the 29 steps to conduct a national plastic pollution hotspotting assessment; as well as presents the data needed, the technical and strategic tools to use, how to verify results, and in which order to generate the necessary outcomes that can be synthesised as evidence and guidance for policy makers.

How 'integratable' do you think these steps are into your country's existing plastic waste action plan? Plus, are there any specific data/knowledge gaps you'd like to fill in your country to better design plastic waste management policies from their onset?

Interesting webinar alert!

Ahead of the upcoming third round of negotiations in November to develop legally binding agreement on plastics, UN PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) is hosting a webinar that explores:

- Why plastic waste and pollution is a risk to financial institutions, including the opportunities of a circular economy for plastics to address climate and biodiversity risks;
- How financial institutions can take action to address this issue; and
- How financial institutions can engage with the UN global agreement currently under development.

As ISLANDS launched a gamified Tide Turners app this July to help young people across SIDS to learn and take action on plastics pollution, this webinar can once again serve as a reminder to where the environmental impact of plastics pollution currently stands, and what high-level financial action can be taken to match individual efforts in different corners of the world.

Hi colleagues!

Sharing technological updates from the world of the recycling industry!

Cyclion Energy is a company offering innovative technology for plastics recycling. It has developed a groundbreaking method that can convert plastics into oil at rather lower temperatures than other waste-to-energy technologies. This technology represents a significant advancement in the recycling industry, as it can efficiently process a wide range of plastics, including those that are typically challenging to recycle, but also avoid unintentional generation of gases. The process involves heating plastics to the temperature of 240-310 degrees Celsius in the absence of oxygen, resulting in the transformation of plastics into valuable oil products.

The company is working on its inaugural commercial project in the Philippines, a country known for its alarming contribution to oceanic plastic waste. The Philippines, with a population of 114 million spread across 7641 islands, is responsible for over one-third of the world's oceanic plastic waste, as reported by Our World in Data. It is planned to have this project operational by 2025 and use it as a model for future endeavors, potentially including projects in Australia.

Looking forward to further updates and innovative projects in other island states across the world!

Photo: Credits to Buchok A.
Manila Bay Beach, July 2023.

Amazing news from the Pacific Ocean!

The Ocean Cleanup, an organization dedicated to removing plastic waste from the world's oceans, has achieved a significant milestone by recovering a record-breaking 55 tons of plastic waste from the Pacific Ocean. The cleanup efforts in strong partnership with Kia targeted the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive accumulation of plastic debris in the ocean. This enormous garbage patch represents the planet's most extensive collection of drifting refuse, covering an estimated area that matches three times the expanse of France.

It is great to also find out that this plastic is subject to recycling and part of it shall be reused by Kia in its future car models.

This achievement in removing plastic waste from the Pacific Ocean not only benefits the global environment but also holds great promise for the well-being and sustainability of islands in the Pacific by preserving their ecosystems, economies, and overall quality of life.

The Solomon Islands ban single-use plastic!

On September the 1st a regulation to ban single-use plastics in the Solomon Islands has come into force.

This ban prohibits the importation, manufacturing, distribution, sale and general use of plastic shopping bags, plastic straws, plastic disposable cups, plates, and cutlery’s, polystyrene foam plates and cups, and water bottles that are less than 1.5 Liters.

This is ban is in line with ISLANDS effort to avoid and manage plastic pollution in the Pacific region.

Well done!