News from Alliance to End Plastic Waste

End of October, BASF employees got the chance to meet Nicholas Kolesch , Vice President of Projects at the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). Nick came from Singapore to Ludwigshafen where over 40 employees joined in-person and nearly 400 BASF employees from all over the world participated online.?

The event was a great opportunity for BASF employees to learn firsthand about the progress of the projects since the inception of the Alliance co-founded by BASF in 2019. Nick shared some insights about where the Alliance stands now with the over 50 projects in 20 countries.?

Together with other panelists from the plastic circularity community at BASF, there was a discussion on what is needed to tackle plastic waste leakage, and how this can be turned into viable business models. Nils Mohmeyer , Director IR Sensing & Spectroscopy Solution at BASF subsidiary trinamiX GmbH presented their innovative Mobile NIR Spectroscopy Solution that enables the flexible on-the-spot identification of plastic types. This way, users in regions that lack access to advanced recycling infrastructure are empowered to sort waste into clean material streams as a key process step.?

Jens Hamprecht , Director and Coordinator of the Global Plastic Steering Committee at BASF explained how the innovations of BASF allow to turn plastic waste into valuable feedstock. How the demand for recycled feedstock is getting increasingly important was highlighted by Joerg von Walcke, co-founder and CEO of Resycure .??

About the Alliance to End Plastic Waste?

Since the inception in 2019, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste has a clear mission to help end the leakage of plastics into the environment. In the past four years, it has focused on its mission to develop infrastructure and invest in systems to improve the collection and management of plastic waste; harnessing innovation, incubating ideas, and accelerating the scaling of new solutions and technologies.?

One example is the collaboration with the African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) in South Africa??

For years, South Africa’s informal waste pickers or “reclaimers” have made a critical contribution to waste management, removing tonnes of waste from the streets and keeping it out of landfills. They work long hours under difficult – and sometimes dangerous – conditions, and remain largely invisible, subsisting on the edges of society.?

Since 2018, Johannesburg-based African Reclaimers Organisation has been working to change this. The non-profit unites 6,000 reclaimers under a single umbrella, gives them a voice, and provides the operational facilities to sort and sell the recyclables collected to the local recycling market. Through this, it hopes to achieve fair compensation and respect that reclaimers deserve for the necessary work they do. Efforts by the organization’s partners similarly look to gain recognition for reclaimers as a reliable and committed workforce, paving the way for them to work alongside the formal waste sector.?

In October 2022, the Alliance put its weight behind these efforts, providing the tools that will ensure reclaimers are able to work not just efficiently, but safely. The move recognizes the often-untenable conditions reclaimers work under, in landfills and along busy roads, without access to basic necessities. As part of a nine-month collaboration with the Alliance, reclaimers have been collecting plastic waste in Mayflower in Mpumalanga Province and parts of Johannesburg city, compacting them for easy transport, and loading them onto vehicles. As a result, some 4,000 people have since gained access to new or improved waste management services. Where plastic waste was once brought to a makeshift base of operations under a highway overpass, it is now transported to a new sorting center, which provides a safer workplace, as well as a space where larger quantities of waste can be sorted and aggregated for sale. Plastic waste is compacted on-site with mobile balers making it easier and more economical to transport. Beyond ensuring better – and safer – livelihoods, the center’s sorting capability also proves that the informal sector is a reliable workforce and effective partner for waste management. This is reinforced through training and continuous improvement programmes that are provided at the site.

As of February 2023, the project had diverted close to 2900 tonnes of plastic waste from entering the environment or ending in landfills since the Alliance started supporting ARO. This is on top of tonnage diverted by ARO in collaboration with other organizations. This creates a model that can be scaled city-wide and potentially country-wide, starting first with recognizing reclaimers as a vital part of South Africa’s waste management ecosystem.?

The challenge to end plastic waste leakage into the environment is huge but not insurmountable.??

Be part of our journey because there is much to do.?

Also interesting on this topic:

Jens Hamprecht had a discussion about plastics cirularity with our CEO, Dr. Martin Brudermüller , which has been shared on LinkedIn. Watch the video here:

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