There have now been six collection centres opened in at-risk coastal communities and, appropriately for Earth Day, the Programme can confirm ground has broken on eight more, including one in a completely new geographical region.
Launched to coincide with World Oceans Day last year, Prevented Ocean Plastic™’s 25 by 2025 initiative was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from the industry, as businesses recognised the need to develop and expand waste management infrastructure where it didn’t previously exist. Impact investment and other funding came from numerous sources, including Circulate Capital and USAID’s Clean Cities Blue Ocean Ocean initiative.
“While the ocean is a big part of who we are, and is rooted at the core of our name, it is our efforts on land that really make a difference,” says Prevented Ocean Plastic™ Founder, Raffi Schieir. “We must continue to develop waste management infrastructure where it is needed, collect ocean-bound plastic waste, prevent ocean pollution, and support local communities.”
The six collection centres opened so far are located among the islands of Indonesia- one of the highest areas of risk for ocean plastic pollution, and a key source of activity for the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme. Since last year, there are now newly developed collection centres in North Jakarta, Bantul, Jambi, Padang, Palembang, which join the previously announced Semarang site in conjunction with USAID’s Clean Cities Blue Ocean initiative.
“We’re immensely proud of the team at the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ South East Asia, and the people working so hard at the forefront of the problem” adds Schieir. “As it stands, we’re on track to achieve our goal of 25 collection centres by the end of 2025.”
A further eight sites have broken ground this year, including ones in Bandung and Makassar, as well as the first in a new region to be unveiled later in the year. The next exciting developments will be announced soon.