BASF co-founded global Alliance to End Plastic Waste in January 2019

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) is made up of nearly thirty major global companies. They have committed over $1.0 billion with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to develop, deploy and bring to scale solutions that will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote post-use solutions. These can be recycling, reuse and repurposing of plastic to keep it out of the environment. BASF supports this initiative as a co-founding member since a collaborative effort of companies, governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as civil society is necessary to address the global challenge of mismanaged plastic waste.

Plastics provide health, safety, sustainability and convenience benefits. They contribute to improving living standards, hygiene and nutrition around the world, especially in developing countries. But plastic waste does not belong in our oceans, rivers or anywhere in our environment. There are two challenges at the heart of the plastic waste issue: lack of adequate infrastructure and systems to collect and manage household and municipal waste, and that society does not recognize waste as a valuable resource. 

Research by the Ocean Conservancy shows that plastics in the ocean predominantly originate from litter on land. Most of the plastic waste is spread through rivers and can be traced back to ten major rivers around the world, mainly in Asia and Africa. Many of these rivers flow through densely populated areas which have a lack of adequate waste collection and recycling infrastructure, leading to significant waste leakage. Once in the environment, it becomes difficult to capture. The AEPW will initiate actions where they are most needed.