Addressing an $18 Billion Gap in Solving Indonesia’s Marine Plastic Crisis

Welcome to Suits & Tides, the sustainability newsletter with more knowledge than microplastics in the ocean! In this episode, Sanjit Misra , our senior sustainability analyst shares about the critical $18 billion investment gap and how innovative partnerships are essential to building a sustainable future.

Marine plastic pollution is a critical global environmental challenge, with millions of tons of plastic entering the oceans each year. The scale of this issue is alarming—without significant intervention, the amount of plastic in our oceans could rise to 29 million tons annually by 2040, affecting ecosystems, economies, and communities globally. Southeast Asia, particularly countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, is at the heart of this crisis.

To give you a sense of the actual scale, just 5 Asian countries contribute to over 60% of the global marine plastic crisis - China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand. Indonesia alone produces about 6.8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with 4.8 million tonnes mismanaged, leading to 620,000 tonnes of plastic waste entering the oceans each year.

The Urgent Need for Capital Investments in Waste Management

To combat the threats of marine plastic spreading beyond the reach of control and across oceans, the Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) has set an ambitious target to reduce marine plastic debris by 70% by 2025.

However, achieving this goal will require significant investment — approximately $18 billion in capital investments by 2040 to build and maintain waste management and recycling infrastructure. This long-term investment is crucial for ensuring that the infrastructure can sustain the reduction and prevent future plastic pollution.

This $18 billion investment is spread over the years leading up to 2040, reflecting the time needed to develop and scale up waste management infrastructure. Alongside this, an additional $1 billion per year is required to cover the operational costs of maintaining and enhancing these systems, particularly at the city level.

But, why Indonesia, and why Southeast Asia? - Because the plastic problem here is more complex and nuanced. To help you understand these complexities better - plastic waste generated in Indonesia that ultimately enters water stream(s) does not remain confined to local waters; it travels transboundary via ocean currents, reaching distant regions, including northern coastlines of the Australasia region, such as the Gulf of Carpentaria and Christmas Island. Similarly, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam, also significantly contribute to this transboundary marine plastic pollution.

The Indonesian Government Sees Public-Private Partnerships as a Viable Way Forward

Considering the level of complexities in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, solving the marine plastic crisis at scale will require extensive global support and coordinated corporate action. The Indonesian government, moving into that direction, has declared itself a major proponent of public-private waste management partnerships in alignment with goals and objectives of the NPAP (National Plastic Action Partnership).

And, how do we know that? The waste management director at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Novrizal Tahar, recently said that waste management industrialization is among the necessary measures to support waste management efforts in Indonesia.

"We need to build waste management industrialization. Why? Because in managing waste, there are technology, management, and human resources. Thus, it must be carried out professionally and modernly. Professionals need to collaborate with regional governments so that waste management can be carried out professionally and modernly," said Tahar, in July 2024.

Seven Clean Seas Is Leading the Charge in Southeast Asia

We’re driven by our vision of picturing an ocean without plastic. But, that requires us to simultaneously work towards building solutions targeting plastic prevention along with recovery. It’s not just about our goal of removing over 10 million kilograms of plastic from our oceans by 2025, but it’s about a whole lot more. It’s about solidifying and supporting the backbone of this industry - the people.

If you ever find yourself in conversation with Tom Peacock-Nazil , CEO & Founder of Seven Clean Seas, he’ll express it perfectly - that we are collectively prouder of the fact that we’ve progressed and evolved from doing 10-20 people voluntary beach cleanups in Singapore in the early days to now providing fair, formal and contractual employment to over 100 people across our project sites in Indonesia and Thailand. And, as a byproduct of getting that piece of the equation right, we’ve also been able to remove ~4 million kilograms of plastic, as of August 2024.

Over the years, we’ve engineered a mechanism that allows us to recover plastic waste from our natural biota sustainably and at scale, and prevent plastic leakage from key sources by helping organisations across the world measure and reduce their plastic waste generation, while also securing sponsorship for plastic removal through the purchase of our third party certified and verified plastic credits generated through the operations across our fully-owned, controlled and operated project sites.

This mechanism has now allowed us to spread our wings even further beyond Indonesia. Less than two weeks ago, we officially launched our third project in Bangkok, Thailand! And, this project has taken our plastic recovery solutions to a whole new level.

We call it the “HIPPO” - High Impact Plastic Pollution remOver. Our third project is operating at the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. This is a project made possible by our corporate partners at Howden , Marina Bay Sands , ECCA Family Foundation , Thai Union Group PCL. , Indosuez Wealth Management , BW LPG , etc.

Powered by solar energy, and with the capacity to remove an estimated 1.4 million kg of waste from the river each year, this new innovation aims to be the first of many HIPPOs stationed in the world’s most plastic-polluted rivers.

The story behind how we conceptualised this idea is truly fascinating, and The Guardian has captured the true essence of the HIPPO in their latest feature article .

Indonesia may be responsible for over 70% of all marine plastic in the Australasia and Oceania region:

Australia is directly impacted by marine plastic pollution originating from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. As per a 2020 study , 70.5% of the ocean plastics found in the Australian Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) come from Indonesia.This shocking revelation highlights the urgent need for Australia to invest in upstream solutions.

The Australian Government has already shown a commitment to addressing this issue through initiatives like the Pacific Ocean Litter Project, a $16 million government-funded program aimed at reducing marine plastic litter in Pacific island countries.

Penny Williams PSM, the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, underscored the shared concerns between Australia and Indonesia regarding marine plastic pollution, stating , "The health of our oceans and waterways is linked to our nations’ economic growth and prosperity. Both Indonesia and Australia are island nations that share concerns about the impact of marine plastic pollution".

This recognition of shared responsibility and impact makes a compelling case for Australian companies to invest in effective waste management solutions in Southeast Asia.

By partnering with Seven Clean Seas, Australian companies can take on a proactive role in reducing the plastic waste that ultimately affects their own coastlines. Investing in waste management solutions in Indonesia and Thailand will not only protect Australia's marine ecosystems but also reduce the economic burden of clean-up efforts and support the country’s broader environmental goals.

New Zealand, like Australia, is affected by marine plastic pollution that originates in Southeast Asia. The country's National Plastics Action Plan and its involvement in global initiatives to combat plastic pollution demonstrate its commitment to addressing this issue.

New Zealand’s Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Rachel Brooking , has emphasised the importance of tackling marine plastic pollution, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, where New Zealand’s marine environment is at risk.

"The ocean has become a dumping ground for all types of pollution, from plastic to toxic chemicals, and countries in the Indo-Pacific are at the centre of the marine plastic crisis," said Brooking over a video message for the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Workshop on Marine Plastic Debris in 2023.

Partnering with Seven Clean Seas offers New Zealand companies a unique opportunity to take meaningful action against marine plastic pollution. By investing in waste management solutions in Southeast Asia, New Zealand can protect its marine ecosystems, support regional sustainability, and reinforce its reputation as a global leader in environmental stewardship.

Southeast Asia’s Struggle with Plastics Requires Immediate Global Corporate Action

The transboundary movement of marine plastics makes it a global issue, and not just a Southeast Asia problem. It must be noted that this problem originated from the entire world’s incremental increase in plastic demand and was driven by the global trade of plastic waste.

Few global organisations are now leading the way in corporate action, and we’re proud to partner with many of those organisations.

For instance, one of our long-term partners, Howden has been representing the United Kingdom’s stance on collective plastic action consistently well over the years by way of working directly with us!

Howden, through its corporate foundation, provided grant funding to Seven Clean Seas to support plastic recovery initiatives in Southeast Asia. This collaboration not only helped remove plastic waste but also created local employment opportunities, demonstrating the tangible impact that UK companies can have by investing in waste management solutions.

Moreover, our dedicated sustainability consultants have been working with Howden’s team since 2022 to effectively rid our oceans of plastic! We’ve been helping them offset their estimated global plastic footprint and, together, we've prevented nearly 500,000 kg of plastic from reaching our precious seas. That’s the equivalent of over 33 million plastic bottles!

The time to act is now. Companies across the world have a critical opportunity to partner with Seven Clean Seas and invest in waste management solutions in Southeast Asia. This is crucial for reducing the flow of plastic waste into the oceans, protecting the workforce in the industry, protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems, and ensuring a truly sustainable future for the planet.

References:

Antara News. (2024). Ministry highlights need for waste management industrialization. Antara News. Retrieved from https://en.antaranews.com/news/317529/ministry-highlights-need-for-waste-management-industrialization

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. (2024). Pacific Ocean Litter Project. Australian Government. Retrieved from https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/marine/pacific-ocean-litter-project#:~:text=The%20Pacific%20Ocean%20Litter%20Project,environments%20of%20Pacific%20island%20countries

Global Plastic Action Partnership. (2020). Financing System Change to Radically Reduce Plastic Pollution in Indonesia: A Financing Roadmap Developed by the Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from the Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership document.

Trellis. (2023). Financing the End of Plastic Pollution. Retrieved from https://trellis.net/article/financing-end-plastic-pollution

Critchell, K., & Lambrechts, J. (2020). Modelling accumulation of marine plastics in the coastal zone; what are the dominant physical processes? Frontiers in Environmental Science, 8, 115. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00115/full

Australian Embassy Indonesia. (2022). Australia and Indonesia to tackle marine plastic pollution together. Retrieved from https://indonesia.embassy.gov.au/jakt/MR22_052.html

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Indonesia. (2023). Indonesia brings ASEAN and the Pacific closer through cooperation on marine plastic debris management. Retrieved from https://kemlu.go.id/portal/en/read/4846/berita/indonesia-brings-asean-and-the-pacific-closer-through-cooperation-on-marine-plastic-debris-management

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