A global initiative was launched by 29 companies in London / UK on 16 January 2019 to advance solutions that "reduce and eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean." The companies are from the plastics and consumer goods value chain. The Alliance To End Plastic Waste (AEPW; www.endplasticwaste.org) has committed around USD 1 bn, and in the next five years plans to invest USD 1.5 bn in projects to minimise and manage plastics waste. This includes the promotion of secondary plastics usage to enable a circular economy.

The alliance is headed by David Taylor (CEO at Procter & Gamble) as chairman and Bob Patel (CEO at LyondellBasell) as vice chairman. Taylor said, "I urge all companies, big and small and from all regions and sectors, to join us." The global alliance wants to drive progress in four key areas – infrastructure development, innovation, education/engagement and clean-up.

Its initial projects and collaborations include the following:

• Partnering with cities to design waste management systems in large urban areas where infrastructure is lacking, especially those along rivers which transport unmanaged plastic waste to the ocean. This work will include engaging local governments and stakeholders, and generate economically sustainable and replicable models that can be applied across multiple cities and regions. The alliance will also look at collaborating with other similar programmes, such as the "STOP" project, which is working in Indonesia – see Plasteurope.com of 19.10.2017.
• Funding Circulate Capital's (Brooklyn, New York / USA; www.circulatecapital.com) "Incubator Network" to develop and promote technologies, business models and entrepreneurs that prevent ocean plastics waste and improve waste management and recycling, with an initial focus on Southeast Asia.
• Developing an open source, science-based global information project to support waste management projects globally to help governments, companies and investors accelerate actions to stop plastics waste from entering the environment. The alliance will explore opportunities to partner with leading academic institutions and other organisations already involved in similar types of data collection.
• Creating a capacity building collaboration with intergovernmental organisations such as the UN to conduct workshops and trainings for government officials and community leaders to help them pursue the most effective local solutions in the highest priority areas.
• Supporting Renew Oceans (Salt Lake City, Utah / USA; www.renewlogy.com) to aid localised investment and engagement. The programme is designed to capture plastics waste before it reaches the ocean from the ten major rivers shown to carry the majority of land-based waste to the ocean. The initial work will support the "Renew Ganga" project, which has also received support from the National Geographic Society.

The companies that have co-founded the Alliance to End Plastic Waste are BASF, Berry Global, Braskem, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Clariant, Covestro, the CP group, Dow, DSM, ExxonMobil, Formosa Plastics Corporation USA, Henkel, LyondellBasell, Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsui Chemicals, Nova Chemicals, OxyChem, PolyOne, Procter & Gamble, Reliance Industries, Sabic, Sasol, Shell, Suez, SCG Chemicals, Sumitomo Chemical, Total, Veolia and Versalis (Eni).