A proposal called Closed Loop Marine has recently been recognized by many companies and efforts are being made to develop new funds and collection systems to prevent waste from entering the ocean. Closed-Loop Marine said it will focus on financing waste infrastructure solutions in the region. The focus is on improving plastics collection, sorting and recycling markets. A number of new company and regional partners, Dow Chemical Company, Coca-Cola Company and a regional intergovernmental organization have been found to join the organization.
It pointed out that about 8 million tons of plastic leaked into the ocean each year. Half of the five fast developing countries came from Asia: Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and China.
In October, we announced this initiative at the Maritime Conference in Malta. Both partners stated that at the time they wanted to create a $150 million investment fund for marine litter in Southeast Asia, similar to the $100 million closed loop.
'A partnership with companies with businesses in these markets and working with PEMSEA, a regional intergovernmental organization with local knowledge and experience in Southeast Asia, will help us introduce more investors and understand the dynamics of the local market and supply chain. And developed an investment strategy that lifted key bottlenecks in the recycling system in Southeast Asia and India.'' General Manager Kaplan said.
Other members of the initiative include the American Chemistry Council, the World Plastics Council, the NGO Marine Protection, the Free Waste Ocean Alliance, 3M, Pepsi, and Procter & Gamble.