Anti-plastic waste alliance to focus on Southeast Asia

A plastic waste dumping site in Palu, Central Sulawesi province of Indonesia, on July 18, 2019 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The AEPW, headquartered in Singapore, consists of 40 companies, including big ones like ExxonMobil, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Shell and Procter & Gamble. 

The alliance committed 1 billion USD to an anti-plastic waste fund when it was launched earlier this year. It pledged another half of the sum in the next five years.

The AEPW said the money will finance city partnerships and infrastructure to support waste management in Southeast Asian countries, which are among the world’s worst ocean polluters.

In June, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) acknowledged plastic waste as a major problem for the region and adopted a joint declaration to combat marine debris./.

VNA