Menu

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has reported significant progress in reducing unmanaged plastic waste and mobilising investment for circular economy solutions, as it marked the first year of implementing its Strategy 2030 programme.

In its newly released 2025 Progress Report, titled “Strategy in Action”, the global non-profit organisation said it reduced 138,162 tonnes of unmanaged plastic waste and valorised 165,317 tonnes during the year. Since its establishment in 2019, the Alliance has reduced a cumulative 378,147 tonnes of unmanaged plastic waste and valorised 418,529 tonnes.

The organisation also said it has helped catalyse more than $641 million in funding commitments from third-party financiers and impact investors since inception, while its education and behaviour-change programmes have reached more than 1.5 million people globally. During 2025 alone, the Alliance engaged 559 organisations in financing, developing and implementing projects.

The report highlights the organisation's transition under Strategy 2030 from smaller, standalone projects to larger Country and Thematic Programmes designed to address systemic barriers to plastics circularity and support countries in strengthening recycling systems.

“2025 was an important first year for Strategy 2030 as we strengthened the foundations for impact at scale and systems change,” said Jacob Duer, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. “We are seeing early results in markets where the need is greatest, but delivering solutions that create greater, lasting impact takes sustained effort, strong partnerships, and commitment.”

The Alliance currently operates Country Programmes in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia and South Africa, focusing on improving waste collection, sorting, recycling infrastructure and demand for recycled materials.

In Indonesia, the organisation is supporting the government's Solid Waste Management for Sustainable Urban Development project in partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). During 2025, it launched an integrated waste management pilot project in Malang Regency, East Java, incorporating waste segregation, improved collection and sorting systems, and stronger linkages with local recyclers. The Alliance has committed up to $40 million to expand lessons from the pilot across multiple cities and regencies in the country.

In India, the Alliance supported the establishment of a municipal waste processing facility in Mathura-Vrindavan. According to the report, the facility is operating at 75 per cent capacity and is expected to process up to 300 tonnes of waste daily, while diverting approximately 80 per cent of the city's waste away from landfill sites.

Beyond country-specific initiatives, the organisation is also addressing broader challenges through thematic programmes, beginning with flexible plastics, which are among the most difficult plastic materials to recycle.

As part of its Flexibles Programme, the Alliance advanced projects in Europe and North America during 2025. In Phoenix, Arizona, it partnered with RME Defeats Waste on a collection model targeting flexible plastics generated by commercial and industrial facilities. The initiative seeks to make plastic recovery economically viable for smaller waste generators, including manufacturers and hospitals.

The Alliance also commissioned a study of the U.S. flexible plastics market to assess supply and demand dynamics and identify opportunities for expanding end markets for recycled materials.

Mobilising capital remains a key focus of the organisation's efforts. Over the past year, the Alliance said it continued using its funding and technical expertise to reduce investment risks associated with circular plastics projects and attract additional financing from public, private and philanthropic sources.

The report highlighted the Plastic Circularity Strategy, managed by Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM), which the Alliance helped establish through seed funding and technical support. The investment vehicle reached its final fundraising close in the summer of 2026 and is now deploying growth capital to companies developing technologies that support plastics circularity.

Among the beneficiaries are Spain-based Fych Technologies, which has developed a process for recycling complex multilayer plastics, and Switzerland's Bloom Biorenewables, which converts non-edible biomass into bio-based chemicals and materials.

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste is an independent global non-profit organisation that works with governments, businesses, investors and civil society groups to promote a circular economy for plastics through improved design, collection, sorting, recycling and reuse systems.