One Step Closer to Solving the Plastics Crisis | Q2 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

As I pen my quarterly update to you, I’m heartened to report that the world is one step closer to a once-in-a-generation opportunity to solve the plastics crisis.

I was delighted to participate in the UN plastics treaty discussions in Paris earlier this month along with a Delterra delegation. Despite a rough start to the negotiations, the week ended on a positive note with a mandate for a 'zero draft' agreement ahead of the next session in Kenya later this year. I was particularly encouraged by the conversations, ambition and energy that happened outside of the official negotiations, among businesses, NGOs, youth, waste workers and Indigenous leaders.

In parallel to the INC-2 negotiations, Delterra convened senior leaders from across the plastics value chain for two roundtable events to discuss financial and upstream solutions to plastics circularity. I am inspired to see overwhelming support for Delterra’s work, as more and more organizations embrace a system-change approach to tackling waste – from the new Strategic Partnership we announced last month, to addressing methane emissions from waste; and from renewed grants like that for the roll out of Plastic IQ, which has been launched in Brazil and Indonesia, to each and every one of our amazing program, knowledge and delivery partners who make the impact we are making possible.

When I look at the progress of our programs this quarter, I’m tempted to draw a parallel to growing children – with some projects all grown up and ready to leave home, whilst others are taking their very first steps!

•  🏡 In Argentina, we continue to monitor the progress of Delterra’s first project to be handed over to the city (Barrio Mugica) and in Bali, we are moving into a lighter touch monitoring mode with our first proof-of-concept villages in Denpasar. Ultimately, our projects are designed to be owned and run by the local community or municipality, so we are proud to see these projects reach independence, proof that they are fully equipped with the tools and knowledge acquired along this journey.
• 👣 I’m excited to see other projects taking their first steps: such as in Brazil, where we are starting a new experiment working alongside partners to deliver an exciting behavior change pilot. In our second cohort of cities in Argentina, we formalized three new city-level agreements, and in Indonesia we secured regency level buy-in and are developing an integrated waste management model in Badung (600k residents). On the upstream side, Delterra is coordinating a consortium of partners taking Plastic IQ global. The Plastic IQ global website was launched earlier this year and the team has since introduced the platform to 79 primary and secondary users, mainly from consumer goods and retail companies, in Brazil and Indonesia through a series of discussions, webinars and events.
• 🏃 Finally, I’m energized to see our scaling work really breaking into a run. We scaled our pilot for low-value plastics in Buenos Aires, sending an additional 200+ tons for recycling that previously would have gone to landfill. In Olavarría, we completed the infrastructure and launched the first massive roll-out of the program to 720 blocks (+30k inhabitants and +1k shops), all while achieving a 40% participation rate in the first weeks of the change in collection service. We also started scaling our pilots in three cities from cohort 1, continuing to achieve similar results to Olavarría, but with a lighter touch model.

The reaction to these programs has been overwhelmingly positive and we are humbled by the growing list of cities waiting to work with us. It’s also been fantastic to see the continued interest in our Circular Cities framework – consistently the top visited page on Delterra.org since its publication.

At the time of our next quarterly newsletter, we will be fresh off the always fruitful Climate Week in September. If you or your colleagues plan to be in New York, please do reach out and plan to connect with us there! Until then, I encourage you to get inspired and stay updated on Delterra’s real world insights and practical actions for a circular economy.

Warm regards,

Dr. Shannon Bouton

President and CEO of Delterra

Top Stories

Putting INC to Paper 📝 Outcomes from the Paris Negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty

As a UNEP accredited environmental nonprofit, Delterra was delighted to participate in the plastics treaty discussions and is happy to report on an intense and productive week, filled with valuable conversations, connections and new collaborations. Here is a brief collection of what we heard, saw and said in Paris!

New Strategic Partnerships: $6M for the Planet

Delterra announced a new strategic partnership with Amcor, Mars and P&G in a press release that has since been covered by 27 titles, including GreenBiz, Recycling Today, Sustainability Magazine and Forbes with a reach of 71.9M.

Circular Cities: The Six Dimensions of Circular Waste Management

In this publication, we explore how various communities across the world have found effective ways to advance the 6 dimensions of integrated waste management, as well as best practices that emerge from their work.

In the Press

• Delterra in Forbes: How To Bring The Circular Economy To The Global South
• World Economic Forum: How one Argentinian city overhauled its waste management to tackle one of the world's largest rubbish dumps
• Greenbiz: Delterra teams up with Mars, Amcor and P&G for plastics pledge
• Latin American Business: Dow Partners with Delterra to promote a circular economy in Argentina through Rethinking Recycling program

News & Events

• [News] Plastic IQ goes LIVE in Brazil and Indonesia
• [Event] Delterra was represented at GS1 Connect in Denver this month by Director of Partnerships Jeremy Douglas, who spoke about Delterra's work in material traceability.
• [Webinar] Delterra hosted a webinar on how cities can take an integrated, holistic approach to designing waste management and recycling systems for circularity, focusing on real-life examples as well as the framework that underpins Delterra’s work.

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