Alliance to End Plastic Waste


The Alliance to End Plastic Waste is a non-profit organization headquartered in Singapore.
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History

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste was founded in 2019.
AEPW promised in 2020 to spend US$1.5 billion by 2024 to reduce plastic pollution and increase recycling efforts. In September 2020 the group reported having spent $400 million on projects in Southeast Asia, Africa and India. As of August 2025, spending had reached $610.89 million.
The group has been criticized for promoting a reduction of plastic waste rather than a reduction in plastic production.
Moreover, the 5-year recycling target of 15 million tonnes is only 0.8% of the 1.8 billion tonnes of plastic waste production, and the actual recycling of plastic waste during 2019-2021 was only 4 thousand tonnes, compared to the 3-year target of 9 million tonnes.
The group has been widely called a greenwashing initiative that uses its power to prevent regulation of plastics.
In 2025, AEPW announced that it was moving towards a systems change model with a focus on blending public and private funding in targeted countries such as India, Indonesia, and South Africa in addition to thematic programmes in both developed and emerging markets. AEPW's systems-based approach addresses systemic problems that inhibit developing a circular economy for plastics.
AEPW has moved towards working with development finance institutions. DFIs use both public and private capital to fund projects that would otherwise be unable to receive commercial financing. AEPW can facilitate financing from development banks by helping them de-risk via co-funding, sharing technical expertise, etc.

Country programmes

Indonesia

In March of 2025, AEPW started a project in four Indonesian villages in the Malang Regency of East Java. The project includes door-to-door collection and management of household waste and recyclable materials. AEPW provides funding and technical support for relevant infrastructure and equipment. Local governments have provided land and on-going funding for the wages of sanitation workers. Hiring for this project prioritised village residents. Plastic, glass, and metal collected by the program are sold to local recyclers to provide additional funding. Participating households are charged collection fees. Affecting behaviourial change among residents is an important goal of the project.

Thematic programmes

Film and flexibles

AEPW's first thematic programme is targeted at film and flexibles, a form of plastic that is rarely recycled. Relevant projects will focus mainly on high-income countries in Europe and North America as they typically have good waste management infrastructure, strong environmental protections, and the necessary resources for advanced recycling initiatives.

Management

Jacob Duer

Jacob Duer serves as president and CEO of AEPW. Duer worked at the United Nations for 20 years. Duer holds an undergraduate degree in business administration and a graduate degree in management from the University of Aarhus.

Membership and collaboration

Founding members of AEPW included BASF, Chevron Phillips Chemical, ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, Procter & Gamble, and Shell.
The AEPW works with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development as a strategic partner and the United Nations Environment Program.
As of January 2026, AEPW published the following list of members: