Substituting single-use plastic products (SUPP) In 2022, the Colombian Congress approved a law [see Spanish version here] introducing the ban and gradual substitution of 14 single-use plastic products. In preparing the law, the plastic materials to be banned and possible substitutes were evaluated and compared by using standardized LCA protocols based on the Colombian Technical Standard under ISO...

In Namibia, as is the case with the rest of the world, efforts aimed at addressing the problem of marine litter and pollution are increasing as the risk continues to wreak havoc on the world's oceans and coastal areas (Shigwedha and Shikongo, 2021).

In Ghana, plastics litter large swathes of the five hundred kilometre coastline and impacts marine spaces. Estimates for Ghana’s contribution to global marine debris range from approximately 92,000 to 260,000 metric tons every year, or one to three percent of the global total. Putting Ghana’s score on the Ocean Health Index at a rapidly declining 59 in 2019 and ranked 188 out of 221 exclusive...

This Policy Brief outlines: 1) the nature of the plastic pollution problem in Australia, 2) available information about the national, subnational, and to a smaller extent, international policy landscape guiding government approaches to the plastic pollution problem in Australia, and 3) what, if any, information exists about the effectiveness of these policy approaches. Source: Bering, J. and R...

This Policy Brief outlines: 1) the nature of the plastic pollution problem in Indonesia, 2) available information about the national, subnational, and to a smaller extent, international policy landscape guiding government approaches to the plastic pollution problem Indonesia, and 3) what, if any, information exists about the effectiveness of these policy approaches. Source: Wang, Y. and R. Karasik...

With the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean (the Plan), the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) was the first Regional Seas Programme and Convention to develop legally binding measures to prevent and reduce the adverse effects of marine litter on marine and coastal environments. Adopted in 2013, the entry into force of the Plan coincided with the update of national...

The Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter (RAPMaLi) for the Wider Caribbean Region was originally developed in 2007 to promote problem solving at the national and local levels, recognizing that unique regional characteristics should inform innovative solutions to the problem of marine litter. The RAPMaLi action plan has since been implemented through selected pilot projects in Guyana, Barbados...

Administered by UNEP with the Secretariat hosted in Thailand, the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) is a regional intergovernmental mechanism bringing together Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Viet Nam in development and protection of the marine environment and coastal areas of East Asian Seas...

Africa, the second largest continent in the world, is experiencing a higher urban population growth (estimated at 3.5% per year) than any other continent, with a steep rise in the middle class and the associated increase of municipal solid waste from 0.78kg per capita per day to 0.99kg by 2025. When coupled with various waste management challenges, there is an expected increase in mismanaged waste...

The European Union has set in motion various initiatives to combat plastic waste and pollution.