Alliance to End Plastic Waste urges source separation

The Singapore-based Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has issued two playbooks designed to boost the collection and sorting of plastic packaging for recycling, including one that addresses the role of household source separation of recyclable plastic.

The group has published the first two in a series of “Solution Model” playbooks designed to improve the understanding of the many stakeholders across the plastic value chain about what is possible and what else is needed to develop a circular economy for plastics.

The first two playbooks, authored in cooperation with the Singapore office of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), are titled “Engaging Households in Segregated Municipal Waste Collection” and “Unlocking Value Through Basic Manual Sorting of Municipal Waste.”

The “Engaging Households” document lays out a case that household materials segregation “can significantly improve the volume and quality of material collected for recycling while reducing sorting costs and decreasing landfill disposal,” the group says.

The 20-page handbook also portrays steps Alliance project partners have taken to encourage households to separate discarded materials at source, in projects implemented in Argentina, China, India and Indonesia. 

The “Unlocking Value” handbook, according to the AEPW, highlights the improved value recovery of plastic scrap for recycling, including the use of simple and low-cost equipment to improve the ergonomics and speed of basic manual sorting.

Information in that handbook is particularly relevant to countries with limited collection and processing infrastructure, or those with early-stage recycling systems, the AEPW says.

“There is a need for solutions that are environmentally beneficial, socially responsible and economically viable, and therefore, replicable and scalable, if we are to advance the transition into a circular economy for plastics,” says Jacob Duer, president and CEO of the AEPW.

“The plastic waste challenge is complex and requires a systems evolution from the current take-make-dispose model to a circular one that encourages reuse and recycle, alongside a range of other solutions required to address plastic pollution. To encourage this, we need investments and solutions that improve waste management, support behavior change and promote innovation.”

Duer says the AEPW will seek to work with others to further put ideas in the handbooks into actions. “This is a journey no organization can approach alone, nor is there a silver bullet," he says. "We are calling for like-minded partners from across the public and private spheres to collaborate with us in furthering the development, strengthening, and implementation of current and future Solution Models.”

Both newly released handbooks plus a whitepaper designed to explain the Solution Models effort can be found on the AEPW website. The additional Solution Model playbooks are scheduled for release later this year. 

“The leakage of plastic waste into the environment is a critical issue that urgently needs tackling by working together with a wide range of stakeholders," says Marc Schmidt, managing director and Partner at BCG in Singapore. "We understand this is a big challenge.”

“By scaling and replicating these solutions, we increase their impact significantly. We encourage local project developers to use these playbooks as a foundation and further develop and implement them.”