As the international community is moving towards a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution,
understanding how EPR can be designed and implemented to reduce plastic pollution, increase plastic recovery
rates, and improve working conditions and livelihoods in the informal recycling sector (IRS) is pertinent. To
bridge this knowledge gap, this policy brief draws on existing knowledge and perspectives on the challenges
and opportunities for fair and inclusive EPR schemes in the Global South, including a webinar organised by
GRID-Arendal and NIVA through the International Knowledge Hub Against Plastic Pollution (IKHAPP 2023).
The IKHAPP team would like to thank the presenters for their original contributions to the webinar: “Important but ignored? The role of the informal recycling sector in a prospective international agreement on plastic pollution’ and this working paper. This work was supported by the project ASAP—Asian Scientific Alliance for Plastic Pollution and Value Network Management[…]
In science and policy discussions around a possible future international agreement on plastic pollution at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), it is important that the role of the informal recycling sector in contributing to plastic waste management is duly recognized. Towards this end, the first IKHAPP Policy Brief formulates seven recommendations ahead of the[…]
This report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and supported by IKHAPP, highlights the role of the more than 15 million people informally collecting and recovering solid waste globally to end plastic pollution. The report identifies that a just transition of the informal waste and recovery[…]