Since the adoption of the Plastic Waste Amendments in 2019, the BRS Secretariat has supported the delivery of over 100 projects, with the support of over $20 million USD in funding, in over 80 countries. Across these, the Secretariat has built a strong portfolio of activities and projects through which it delivers technical assistance to strengthen capacities for the control of transboundary movements (TBM), environmentally sound management (ESM), and prevention and minimization of the generation of plastic waste.
There are a range of different activities that make up the technical assistance projects delivered by the BRS Secretariat. Key types of activities include the following:
- Trainings and workshops – delivered to support capacity building, facilitate consultations and promote information exchange.
- Pilots – or smaller scale initiatives supported by the Secretariat, which seek to test the feasibility and scalability of initiatives relating to the ESM, TBM and prevention and minimization of plastic waste.
- Testing and implementing the toolkit for the development of a plastic waste inventory – to support countries to estimate the amount of plastic waste generated, managed, disposed of, and leaked at the national level.
These activities are delivered through a variety of projects, from large, multi-year, multi-component projects to smaller projects with only one or two activities. Plastic waste technical assistance can also be characterized by different themes with a special focus. This section provides further information on these projects and activities which are delivered through a range of donors, programmes and focus areas.
- Standalone projects: The Secretariat has a strong record of delivering large standalone projects in direct collaboration with partner countries. These projects involve a comprehensive package of technical assistance activities across ESM, TBM and prevention and minimization of plastic waste.
- Proposal-driven TA initiatives: Technical assistance projects are also delivered through two flagship programmes which provide the opportunity for Parties and stakeholders to submit proposals for funding. These are the Small Grants Programme (SGP) on plastic waste, and the Plastic Waste Partnership pilot projects.
- Focus areas: Across the technical assistance projects and activities on plastic waste, there are a number of key focus areas including remote and mountainous areas; chemicals in plastics, supporting women and vulnerable populations; and promoting regional coordination.
- Testing tools and guidelines: Technical assistance activities can involve testing and implementing different tools and guidelines which support improved plastic waste management. This includes piloting the implementation of the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of plastic wastes, and the toolkit to develop national inventories on plastic waste.
These projects and activities have been funded by the generous support of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the Norwegian Retailer’s Environment Fund, the Government of France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and United States of America.
Projects map
Some of the details of these projects and activities can be found on the project map below, brings together information on initiatives addressing plastic pollution, implemented by a wide range of agencies such as UNCTAD, USAID and the BRS Secretariat.
