PROJECT STOP – TACKLING OCEAN PLASTIC LEAKAGE
The problem of ocean plastics remains a crucial issue for the plastics packaging industry. Elisabeth Skoda takes a closer look at Project Stop, which aims to address the challenge at the source, gaining insights from project founders SYSTEMIQ and Borealis. She talks to Joi Danielson, Asia Programme Director at SYSTEMIQ, and Craig Halgreen, Sustainability & Public affairs Director at Borealis. ES: To start off: Joi, can you give us a brief overview of SYSTEMIQ’s work? ES: And Craig – what made Borealis decide to create this project together JD: We are a group of leaders committed to working together to stop environmental destruction, and to reduce deepening social inequalities. We work in three areas: renewable energy, land use and material use. As a company we work at the systems level. We think for true change to happen you have to adjust the underlying system. We work on an advisory capacity with different companies, integrating new ventures and mobilizing large-scale capital towards climate action and UN SDGs.
with SYSTEMIQ?
CH: For Borealis, as a manufacturer of a wide range of plastic products, it is
us a quick overview of what the project would like to achieve?
distressing when you see the visuals of animals and sea life with plastics in their bellies etc. No responsible company could continue to operate and do nothing about this. We believe that life demands progress. Of course we need to manufacture the plastics that people need and plastics can provide a high quality of life, but at the same time we had to do something about the end of life. We saw an opportunity to join forces with SYSTEMIQ and create something that could stop the leakage of plastics into the ocean. I think the greatest input from both companies is the pragmatic ‘let’s get it done’ attitude. Walk rather than talk.
JD: I think all of us were impatient to see real change in ocean plastic
ES: On a more general level, why did you choose Indonesia as the loca-
and wanted to work on a project that resulted in permanent reduction. Up to this point we hadn’t been seeing many real shifts on the ground. The idea with Borealis and SYSTEMIQ was to create a front-line project that resulted in permanent reduction with zero leakage. We partner with cities with very little if any waste management in place and put a team on the ground for two to three years to build circular economically sustainable zero leakage waste systems. The systems should be circular in nature so as many non-organic materials recycled and non-organic materials composted as possible. This creates better social and economic situations for the cities we work with.
tion for Project Stop?
ES: Can you tell us a bit more about what inspired Project Stop and give
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CH: It’s the country that has the second highest leakage into the sea; I think China is first but it would have been more complicated for us to go there. JD: Indonesia has one of the lowest waste collection rates for its GDP per capita in the world so only 39% of waste is actually collected. The choice is therefore to burn or dump waste and sometimes they dump it in the water. What this means is you have 40 million tonnes going into the environment every year which has huge environmental, health, social and economic consequences.
