News

European Development Days: Green Deal without borders

Country: Other Countries
key Area: Consumption & Production, Circular Economy
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Together with partners, GIZ hosted a brainstorming session during the European Development Days 2021, taking place virtually in June.

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The session titled ‘Green Deal without borders: global circular economy solutions against plastic’ featured experiences from several GIZ-implemented projects, among them ‘Rethinking Plastics’, as well as open exchange rounds to brainstorm, exchange experiences and learnings and connect. The brainstorming rounds covered aspects of sustainable consumption, circular economy, sustainable production as well as monitoring and data of marine littering.

As the brainstorming exchanges took place in small groups, they were not recorded on video but with graphic visualisation, while a recording is available from the introduction as well as the summaries. It can be rewatched here.

China: EPR Toolbox translated into Chinese

Country: China
key Area: Waste Management
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The EPR Toolbox of the PREVENT Waste Alliance is now also available in Chinese language, made available by ‘Rethinking Plastics’.

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The EPR Toolbox developed by the PREVENT Waste Alliance is a collection of internationally relevant knowledge on the topic of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging and contains detailed training materials on EPR, practical country examples and a set of FAQs.

Download the EPR Toolbox in Chinese here.

It is also already available in English and Vietnamese.

More information: EPR Toolbox - PREVENT Waste Alliance (prevent-waste.net)

Highlight Quote 1: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a key concept for ‘closing the loop’ in the packaging value chain.

Vietnam: EPR Toolbox now available in Vietnamese

Country: Vietnam
key Area: Waste Management
Related item: Enhancing Plastic Packaging Collection, Sorting and Recycling
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Institutional and operational actors can now also enhance their knowledge about EPR for packaging with the EPR Toolbox in Vietnamese.

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It contains detailed training materials on EPR, practical country examples and a set of FAQs.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a key concept for ‘closing the loop’ in the packaging value chain. The EPR Toolbox developed by the PREVENT Waste Alliance is a collection of internationally relevant knowledge on the topic of EPR for packaging. Download the EPR Toolbox in Vietnamese here.

More information about the PREVENT Waste Alliance and the EPR Toolbox is available here: EPR Toolbox - PREVENT Waste Alliance (prevent-waste.net)

Vietnam: Kick-off workshop of pilot activities

Country: Vietnam
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key Area: Ports & Fisheries, Consumption & Production, Waste Management
Related item: A Better Ship Waste Handling in Vietnamese Ports, A Supermarket Alliance to Reduce Single-Use Plastic Bags, Engaging the Fishing Community in Plastics Collection, Enhancing Plastic Packaging Collection, Sorting and Recycling
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Beginning of April 2021, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam and 'Rethinking Plastics' co-organised a Kick-off workshop of the pilot activities under the project.

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The workshop presented the joint work on policy development and four new pilot activities, which will contribute to tackle the plastic waste challenge in three different provinces and cities. They aim at reducing the amount of plastics, which end up untreated on land and in the oceans and will focus on reducing and avoiding plastic waste and to better segregate, collect, sort and recycle it. During the workshop, the pilot activities in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Phu Yen Province were further introduced jointly with the non-profit organizations in charge of their implementation.

The four pilot activities are:

  • Enhancing the plastic packaging collection, sorting and recycling in Ho Chi Minh City implemented by the French Research Institute for Development(IRD) and Hanoi Architectural University: In Ho Chi Minh City, the pilot aims to increase the collection, sorting and recycling of plastic packaging in two districts (Nha Be and District 3). With its experiences, the pilot contributes to the development of an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for packaging in Viet Nam.
  • An innovative initiative to establish the alliance of supermarkets to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic bags in Viet Nam (Plastic Alliance Project) implemented by Institute of Strategy, Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) in Hanoi: Free of charge single-use plastic bags are still available in a lot of shops, markets and supermarkets. The pilot project encourages to reduce and replace single-use plastic bags through an alliance of committed retailers and awareness raising activities in Hanoi.
  • Ship Waste Management in Vietnamese ports in Cat Lai Port implemented by Expertise France and Viet Nam Maritime Administration (Vinamarine) in Ho Chi Minh City: An efficient ship waste management is key to reduce illegal dumping of ship waste into the sea. To meet standards and best practices from ports around the world, existing regulations and operations at Cat Lai port (Saigon New Port) are assessed and improved.
  • Fishing for Litter: Promote a scheme for the voluntary collection of plastics marine litter by fishermen community implemented by Expertise France and Viet Nam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS)in Phu Yen province: The local fishing community gets support to build a team of volunteers who collect and bring back waste caught while fishing.

In addition to the pilot activities, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also cooperates with ‘Rethinking Plastics’ and relevant agencies in the further development of key policy strategies for reducing and better managing plastic waste, e.g. the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach. The achievements so far as well as next steps were also presented at the launch event.

During the workshop, Mr. Pham Phu Binh, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment thanked all EU partners, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Expertise France for accompanying the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to tackle plastic pollution, and remarked: “The Vietnamese Government in general and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in particular, have strong political commitments, affirming that we always give high priority on finding both short- and long-term solutions to reduce plastic pollution and foster economic development towards the circular economy approach. In December 2020, the Prime Minister signed the Decision No 1746/QD-TTg promulgating the National Action Plan on marine plastic debris management with a vision to 2030. The 'Rethinking Plastics’ project can be an important contribution to support the implementation of National Action Plan and help Viet Nam achieve its goals. Experiences and lessons learned from project implementation and pilot activities will serve as a basis for replicable examples, and aim to inform policy development initiatives”.

Highlight Quote 1: “Plastic waste concerns us all. We must move towards a circular economy for plastics - an economy in which resources are used and managed more efficiently and more sustainably”,
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agreed Mr. Rui Ludovino, First Counsellor, Climate Action, Environment, Employment and Social Policies at the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam. “Through the ‘Rethinking Plastics’ project we work closely with Vietnam to prevent marine plastic litter and share regional and European experiences, such as from the European Green Deal and the EU Plastics Strategy. The four new pilot activities complement these joint efforts towards a circular economy with concrete actions and experiences from the local level, involving the communities and households, local businesses and administrations. We hope that they can serve as best practices and inspire future initiatives and policy development. I am very happy to meet all the project partners here today and wish the pilot activities a successful implementation.”

After the presentation of each pilot activity, all participants gathered to exchange experiences and recommendations for the upcoming implementation period.

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Thailand: New local approaches to tackle the plastic waste challenge launched

Country: Thailand
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key Area: Ports & Fisheries, Consumption & Production, Waste Management
Related item: A Circular Economy for Islands, Households Fit for Recycling, Less Plastics in Phuket, Ship Waste Management 2.0
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On the way to reduce and better manage plastic waste in Thailand, the Pollution Control Department of the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and ‘Rethinking Plastics’ presented three new pilot projects.

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They will contribute to tackle the plastic waste challenge in three different provinces in Thailand to reduce the amount of plastics, which end up untreated on land and in the oceans. During today’s launch event in Bangkok, the activities in Phuket, Rayong and Trang Province were further introduced jointly with the non-profit organisations in charge of their implementation. The pilots focus on reducing and avoiding plastic waste and to better segregate, collect, sort and recycle it until 2022.

Ms. Preeyaporn Suwanaged, Deputy Director General of Pollution Control Department thanked the partners and highlighted the need for a circular economy and the implementation of the principle of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R): “The Thai Government has given high priority on finding both short-term and long-term solutions to tackle the plastic waste problem. The pilot projects are in line with the national policy on driving economic and social development by adopting new economic models namely Bio Economy, Circular Economy and Green Economy (BCG Model) including the Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management 2018-2030 and the Action Plan on Plastic Waste Management 2020-2022.”

“Plastic waste concerns us all. We must move towards a circular economy for plastics – an economy in which resources are used and managed more efficiently and more sustainably” agreed Dr. Giuseppe Busini, Deputy Head of Mission of the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand. “Through the ‘Rethinking Plastics’ project we share regional and European experiences and work closely with Thailand to prevent marine plastic litter. The new pilot projects can complement these joint efforts towards a circular economy with concrete actions and experiences from the local level, involving the communities and households, local businesses and administrations. We hope that they can serve as best practices and inspire future initiatives and policy development.”

Highlight Quote 1: “It is important to link local ideas and initiatives to the national policy level as well as to regional and global exchanges”,
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added Mr. Jan Scheer, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Affairs of the German Embassy in Bangkok. “I am confident that we can learn a lot from the solutions and needs identified in the pilot locations. Rayong, Phuket and Trang represent an economic center, a main tourism destination and an area with precious marine environment. We can learn a lot from the challenges faced in specific areas and it is of great advantage that the pilot projects include so many experienced partners and important stakeholders. I am very happy to meet all the partners here today and wish the pilot projects a successful implementation.”

After the presentation of each pilot project, the participants gathered at the launching event to exchange experiences and recommendations for the upcoming implementation period. In addition to the three launched pilot projects in Thailand with PCD, ‘Rethinking Plastics’ financially supports another pilot project to improve Ship Waste Management at Bangkok Port and in total more than 20 pilot initiatives in five countries.

The pilot projects in Thailand are:

  • Enhancing a circular economy model at local level and improving municipal plastic waste management practices and policies in Koh Libong, implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Koh Libong, Trang Province: The island and area of Koh Libong is important for wildlife and marine biodiversity, as it is the largest seagrass area in Thailand and home for dugongs. To conserve this precious marine environment, the pilot partners work with local communities and the tourism sector to avoid and manage plastic waste.
  • An enhancement of plastic packaging waste segregation performance for closed-loop recycling, implemented by the Faculty of Engineering of Chulalongkorn University in Rayong Province: Local communities, schools and stakeholders along the plastic value chain engage for a better segregation and collection of plastic waste. The goal is to enhance its recycling rate.
  • Less plastics in Phuket: Reduction and better plastic waste management in households and businesses, implemented by the Phuket Environmental Foundation in Phuket: Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, aims to reduce and better manage the amount of plastic waste in businesses and households. Alternatives to single-use plastics are for example explored with the food delivery and tourism sectors.
  • Ship Waste Management 2.0, implemented by the Energy Research Institute of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok Port: The pilot develops an online platform for a better ship waste management in Bangkok Port. Moving towards efficient mandatory ship waste notification and financing structures helps to reduce illegal waste dumping into the sea.

Explore all Pilot Projects.

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Picture 2 Description: (From left) Mr. Alvaro Zurita, Team Leader of the Rethinking Plastics – Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter project, GIZ Mr. Jan Scheer, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Affairs of the German Embassy in Bangkok Ms. Preeyaporn Suwanaged, Deputy Director General of Pollution Control Department Dr. Giuseppe Busini, Deputy Head of Mission of the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand and Mr. Reinhold Elges, Country Director of GIZ Thailand and Malaysia