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Plastic Pollution Toolkits

"World-leading toolkits, informed by science and engineering, helping us understand, visualise, quantify and solve plastic pollution challenges, whether local or global"

"When it comes to assessing solutions, we take a systems approach, putting things in context and considering compromises amongst multiple societal objectives and competing priorities"

The models we developed and co-created, are capable of describing sources pathways and receptor hotspots, linking plastic pollution to its origins and therefore providing real, evidence-based opportunities for preventive engineering and policy interventions. They are based on advanced data analytics, work at different scales - from local, to regional to national to global - and quantify multiple forms of plastic pollution: from open dumping , to open burning, to terrestrial dispersion, to flux into waterbodies.

Our extensive analysis - based on many years of research - shows that plastic pollution is largely due to failures of waste and resource management systems and limited circular economy opportunities for after-use items and materials. In particular across the Global South, 2-3 billion of people do not have access to waste collection and safe disposal services and infrastructure – as our analysis for the seminal UNEP Global Waste Management Outlook elaborated.

Our work incorporate decades of expertise in waste and resources management, informal sector recycling (waste picking), circular economy and global benchmarking. Our work is directly linked to achieving SDGs, not least sound waste collection, treatment and disposal (11.6.1), effective recycling (12.4), and prevention of marine litter due to land-based pollution sources (14.1).

Plastic Pollution Toolkits

Plastic-to-Oceans Model (P2O)

A first of a kind model to analyse the stocks and flows of plastic waste flowing through global society

Plastic Pollution Calculator

A toolkit for a detailed assessment of plastic pollution, applied at a local neighbourhood level but scalable to whole regions.

SPOT Model

A GIS toolkit for plastic pollution hotspots, transportation and accumulation in the environment, applied regionally to globally.

Waste Flow Diagram

A toolkit for a rapid assessment of a city or municipalities plastic pollution, focussed around those with failing waste management systems

Plastic Pollution Assessment Methodologies Suitability Toolkit (PLAST)

A toolkit enabling users to identify which plastic pollution assessment methodology is best suited to their needs and resources

Circular Economy and Global South Toolkits

InteRa

An analytical framework and tool for integrating the informal recycling sector in waste and resource management systems in developing countries

SoCo

A methodological tool and training package to more objectively quantify and elaborate potential impacts and benefits of selective waste collection and recycling services, including those operated by waste pickers

CVORR

A toolkit for performing a combined technological, socioeconomic and environmental analysis of resource recovery systems