Ocean-Bound Community Collection and Co-processing of Mixed Plastics in Vietnam (PPRS)

This project partner is a high-impact ocean clean-up organization providing safe, stable, fair, and most importantly formal employment to the communities impacted directly and severely by plastic pollution. The mission is to remove plastic pollution from the oceans by building waste management infrastructure in the most polluted areas of the world. 

Vietnam is among the worst-hit by the plastic pollution crisis. The country generates about 1.8 million tons of plastic waste each year, including more than 30 billion plastic bags, 80% of which are thrown away after one use. 

This project partner buys plastic from waste pickers in coastal provinces, creating jobs and better income for workers in the informal waste sector and end-of-life processing for plastic that can’t be recycled to ensure it doesn’t end up back in the ocean. 

They set up storage stations at collection centres, and employ local collection managers to identify, train and pay informal sector plastic waste pickers. They strive to offer equal employment, especially to disadvantaged women in the area.  

This project sends non-recyclable plastic waste to licensed co-processors who use it for energy recovery. This project partner’s credits help create a circular economy, allowing them to pay more money to more collectors for low value plastics that might otherwise be passed over.