Plastic is a material that is versatile, resistant, lightweight, and inexpensive to produce, making it ubiquitous in our everyday lives. However, the amount of plastic waste released into our environment and its negative effects on our marine ecosystem have attracted increasing scientific concern in recent years. East and Southeast Asian regions are recognised as the biggest contributors to marine plastic pollution due to rapid economic growth and the lack of solid waste management infrastructure. Indeed, the ASEAN+3 region is estimated to account for 64% of the world's annual leakage of plastic waste into the ocean, according to a study by Dutch scientist Lourens Meijer et. al. (2021).

Alarmed by this regional situation, the ASEAN Member States welcomed the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris in 2019 and adopted the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Region. In May 2021, ASEAN as a group officially launched the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States (2021-2025), which recognises the urgent need to combat marine litter, including by promoting platforms for knowledge sharing, innovative solutions, and best practices to address this issue. Additionally, in March 2022, at the Fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), 175 nations endorsed a historic resolution proposing an international legally binding agreement to control plastic pollution by 2024.

Against this regional and international backdrop, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) established the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris in 2019 to provide the ASEAN+3 Member States with support in addressing emerging challenges associated with marine plastic debris. One of the missions of the Regional Knowledge Centre is to promote the private sector’s innovative actions to counter plastic pollution.

In fact, the private sector in ASEAN+3 countries has been contributing significantly to the reduction of plastic waste and, consequently, marine plastic debris in the region. Their efforts can range from both the production and consumption (so-called 'upstream') levels to recycling and waste management (so-called 'downstream') levels.

At this occasion, ERIA in collaboration with relevant partners in Singapore, will unpack the country’s strategy to promote resource circularity, with a focus on plastics. Especially in the context of new laws and regulations aiming to improve plastic circularity in Singapore, highlighted in the application of EPR schemes for plastics, the webinar will be an occasion to discuss the many ways private companies are contributing to combating plastic waste and marine plastic debris. The Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris will reintroduce its online Private Sector Platform (PSP) to the public, particularly to private companies, to raise more awareness of the platform and attract a larger number of private companies to join the fight against marine plastics.