ASPA Opens for Business

Welcome to ASPA - Asia-Pacific Sustainable Plastics Alliance!

We are excited to announce the launch of the Asia-Pacific Sustainable Plastics Alliance (APSPA), a new non-profit organisation that aims to stem the tide of plastic pollution in Asia-Pacific by creating circular economies.

We all know that plastic doesn't belong in the ocean and that recycling it continuously is a better way to use the material without harming the planet. What many don't realise is that recycling in Asia-Pac is different to Europe and North America. Where the EU and USA have household recycling collections and expensive sorting machinery called MRFs, for much of Asia-Pac there is little infrastructure, leaving the collection of recyclables to informal workers.

What's the difference between MRF and informal worker recycling?

A lot! Informal workers sell what they can to Junk shops, and they sell to other Junk shops and small aggregators, and small aggregators sell to medium ones who sell to larger ones who finally sell to recyclers. The chain of custody is long and there's little transparency in the deals done. So unlike recycling that goes from home to MRF to recycler, the plastic received by recyclers in Asia-Pac may not actually be PCR (post-consumer-recycled) plastic - it could be industrial scrap or worse cheap virgin plastic substituted into the supply chain.

This is why ASPA's first project is to develop a PCR (post-consumer-recycled) plastic certification standard fit for the region.

PCR Plastic Certification Standard for Asia-Pac

Standards have already been developed in the EU and North America, but these don't work in the Asian context where recycling infrastructure is almost non-existent and plastic that is collected passes through many hands before getting to the recycler.

Building on the great work of Plastics Recyclers Europe and the Association of Plastics Recyclers, ASPA's members have formed a working group to develop a standard that takes into account the chain of custody issues common place in AsiaPac.

What is ASPA?

APSPA was registered as a society in Singapore on 29 August 2022 and represents the recycling industry across the region: India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

Our vision is to transform the plastics value chain in Asia-Pacific into a circular one, where plastics are designed for reuse and recycling, collected and processed efficiently, and turned into new products that meet market demand and consumer preferences. By doing so, we hope to reduce plastic waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental impacts, while creating new economic opportunities and social benefits.

Join Us

We invite all stakeholders who share our vision and goals to join us in this endeavour. Together, we can make a difference for a more sustainable future. BECOME A MEMBER or JOIN OUR MAINING LIST.