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Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G have announced the launch of a strategic partnership to stem the tide of plastic pollution in the Global South. As part of the partnership, the global companies will work together to scale upstream and downstream solutions for a circular plastics economy, jointly committing $6 million over the next five years. The strategic partnership will begin its focus in Argentina, Indonesia and Brazil, aiming to provide easy access to waste management and recycling systems to 10 million people. The partners say they will explore new ways to drive true system change and to innovate beyond each organisation’s field to positively impact the entire ecosystem.

According to the partners, they share a “commitment to urgent environmental action and a shared understanding that the challenge of plastic pollution cannot be solved without a systemic and holistic approach to rolling out scalable and sustainable programs to boost the transition to a circular economy”. The companies recognise that plastic pollution is a symptom of underperforming or non-existent waste management and circularity solutions. Shannon Bouton, president and CEO at Delterra, said: “Solving plastic pollution – and indeed the broader waste crisis, requires a rethinking of the way we produce and manage waste. This includes a rapid expansion of waste collection and sortation and reliable recycling markets, alongside a deeper redesign of how we consume.” Through the partnership, the companies will invest in programmes along the full recycling value chain. In regards to upstream recycling, the companies will stem plastic pollution at source by designing waste out of the system with the use of Delterra’s ‘Plastic IQ’, a digital tool that helps companies understand and improve their plastic footprint. For downstream recycling, the companies will work on the supply and demand side “to capture recyclable and compostable materials and return them to productive use,” this will be enabled by Delterra’s ‘Rethinking Recycling’ programme.

The partnership will also see the companies innovate material traceability solutions to provide transparency on source, quality and ethical concerns. Allison Lin, global VP packaging sustainability at Mars, commented: “We want to demonstrate that we can create successful programmes for waste management and recycling systems particularly in the Global South, which currently lacks the infrastructure we need to stop plastic pollution. Scale will enable these systems to be self-sustained and ultimately, protect people and planet while at the same time creating value for local communities. We call on all parties gathering in Paris for the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations to agree on a regulatory framework that enables the creation of effective waste management infrastructure systems everywhere in the world.” The announcement comes in the lead-up to the second negotiating committee meeting for the UN Global Plastics Treaty (Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee – 2), which is being held in Paris, France from 29 May – 2 June, and works to develop a globally binding agreement on plastic pollution.