Ocean Recovery Alliancebecomes a signatory of the UNEP Global Tourism Pllastics Initiative

Ocean Recovery Alliance and its Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP) program, is proud to be a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

“The tourism industry is a significant information vector, education opportunity and engagement network for reducing plastic pollution at scale, both via the operations of the participants, and in beautifying the communities they serve, so we are excited to be sharing our PDP methodology with companies who are on the road to greatly reducing their plastic footprints,” said Douglas Woodring, Founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance and the PDP.

As a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, we endorse the common vision to address the root causes of plastic pollution. We commit to eliminate the plastic items we don’t need; innovate so all plastics we do need are designed to be safely reused, recycled, or composted; and circulate everything we use to keep it in the economy and out of the environment.

In the framework of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, Ocean Recovery Alliance commits to:

• Encouraging our affiliated organisations and businesses or partners to join the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative and providing a number of services, programs and knowledge which the tourism sector can benefit from.

• Advising and guiding affiliated organisations and businesses or partners to better manage plastics in their operations through practices, criteria, standards and/or policies, and support them to implement their commitments to the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative when applicable, by pursuing the Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP) which is a tool for the tourism sector to use in order to reduce the plastic footprints and waste impacts of its constituents and the communities they work in.

• Sharing success stories, case studies and examples, when approved by the party in focus, on social media, its websites and speaking about their engagements on the topic.

To see our full media release click here

Global Tourism Initiative Press Release July 2021

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Plastic Buffet: Both China and U.S have the Opportunity to Innovate on Plastics

Last year marked a watershed moment for the reduction in plastic pollution in China, its move to reduce the use of single-use plastic is another positive vector supporting the global movement to retail consumption of plastics. Much of China’s plastic waste is produced domestically, and offer large opportunities for recycle and second-life markets where value is brought to the waste. The 2018 enforcement of the Basel Convention and its restriction on the import of second-life materials sent shockwaves through regions that had failed to invest in their own recycling capacities, including United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong.

With over 40,000 variations in the way plastic products are made, it can be argued that solving plastic pollution is more complicated than bringing resolution to climate change. This does not mean that the impacts of plastic pollution are necessarily greater, but given the opportunities for innovation, job creation, and formation of the global circular economy, the global plastic import restrictions can shift to be either China’s or the United States’ golden opportunity to create a circular economy using non-virgin materials.

See the full article on Medium – Beyond Institute

Thai Partnership Launches Commitment to Plastic Footprint Reduction

The Solid Waste Management Association, Thailand (SWAT) is launching their Plastic Footprint Reduction Project under the framework of the United Nations Environment Programme’s SEA circular project. One of the cornerstones of the SWAT’s Plastic Footprint Reduction Project is reducing the use of plastic, increasing recovery and recycling of plastic waste to support a circular economy.

SWAT works with companies and organisations representing key sectors in Thailand: food & beverage, plastic manufacturing and packaging, hotels and hospitality, municipalities as well as universities and schools. Ocean Recovery Alliance, an environmental organisation based in the US and Hong Kong, is providing support and training in the methodology for measuring plastic footprints based on the world's first plastic footprinting methodology, the Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP).

See the full article on CIRCULAR

For more information on SWAT