Blog

USAID Announces New Partnerships in Sri Lanka to Turn the Tide on Ocean Plastics this World Oceans Day

USAID’s programs support new models for reuse, reduction, and recycling that can lessen urban footprints and yield healthier, plastic-free seas. Credit: USAID Urban/Municipal Waste Recycling Program Island nations face unique challenges in managing waste, with growing populations, rapidly urbanizing coastal areas, and influxes of offshore marine debris that… Read More

Learning from Locally-led Actions to Combat Plastic Pollution in Vietnam

Our study examined two MWRP projects: The Informal Sector on Plastics implemented by Environnement et Développement du Tiers-Monde (ENDA) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and Oceans Without Plastics implemented by the Center for Environment and Community Research (CECR) in Da Nang. Read More

Why it is essential to combat ocean plastic pollution in developing countries

By: Clare Romanik, Senior Urban and Ocean Plastics Specialist, USAID Ocean plastic pollution has reached a crisis level. Every minute, the equivalent of an entire garbage truck of plastic makes its way into the world’s oceans—roughly eight million tons… Read More

A Plastic Wrapped Life

Spread over an area bigger than the United States, the approximately 17,000 islands of Indonesia are home to more than 260 million people. It is the largest economy in Southeast Asia[1] and the second-most biodiverse country in the world.[2] A city skyline view of Jakarta, Indonesia. |… Read More

Nestle Partnership with USAID Grantee Encourages Reusable Packaging

With support from Nestle, USAID grantee Philippine Reef & Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc. launched a new approach to tackle a key source of ocean plastics: single-use sachets. Read More

Ethiopia’s Rapid Urbanization Requires Innovative Municipal Finance

By 2037, Ethiopia’s urban population will double to 42.3 million people. Job creation and innovative municipal financing mechanisms will be integral to a successful urban transition and long term economic growth for the country. To drive the creation of new revenue streams through its industrial sector, Ethiopia has built… Read More

Sri Lankans Collaborate to Combat Ocean Plastic Pollution

Renowned for its beautiful beaches and UNESCO sites, Sri Lanka (population 21.4 million) welcomed around 2.33 million tourists in 2018. An estimated half a million Sri Lankans depend on tourism directly, while two million rely on it indirectly. However,… Read More

Collaboration in Indonesia to Combat Ocean Plastic

For Indonesia, plastic waste entering the ocean is a huge problem. The country is the number two contributor of plastic waste in the ocean causing negative environmental effects and hurting tourism, a driving economic force for the country. (See Jameck… Read More

Municipal Finance: Self-Reliant Cities Generate their Own Revenue

Cities account for nearly 80 percent of global domestic product. A suite of municipal services exists to support urban economic growth including water and sanitation, housing, transportation, and more. Both city residents and the businesses employing them require these services to thrive. However, despite growing demands from rapidly urbanizing populations,… Read More

Moving Up the Recycling Value Chain

In the Philippines, both formal and informal private sector actors manage the recycling value chain. Small recycling centers called junk shops play a critical role in this chain by purchasing recyclables from independent waste collectors and then reselling to larger materials processing facilities. Junk shop ownership is a key… Read More