How the World Bank Group is addressing Marine Plastic Pollution

Over 3 billion people rely on the ocean for jobs and food. These benefits are under threat due to a marine plastic crisis.

In 2016, 11 million metric tons of plastic flowed into the ocean. Without concerted efforts, this could triple to 29 million tons by 2040. The majority (70 to 80 percent) of this pollution is transported from land to sea via rivers or coastlines. The rest comes from fishing nets, lines, ropes, and abandoned vessels.

The consequences are far reaching. Plastic waste endangers marine life, damages marine ecosystems, and harms fisheries and tourism which provide jobs and drive economies.

Even though plastic is a valuable material due to its low cost and versatility, its overuse and mismanagement are clearly harming the planet. Tackling marine plastic pollution is the need of the hour.

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Plastic is everywhere - in the air we breathe, in the water we drink, in the food that we eat. It is in our ocean and ice in the Arctic. Urgent action is needed to curb plastic waste that ends up in the ocean.

Cleaning up beaches and retrieving fishing gear are not long-term solutions. Change can only happen if governments adopt sustainable actions to:

Adopt circular plastic economy models to reduce the use of virgin materials;

Keep plastics in a closed loop of use and reuse to minimize waste; and

Improve waste management services to collect and sort plastic waste;

Partnerships are critical

The need of the hour is to identify which solutions are needed in which country. This requires collaboration between producers, consumers, service providers, and regulators.

Effective partnerships with the private and public sectors, and civil society are critical:

Governments can enact and enforce policies, laws and regulations to reduce the production and use of single use plastics, and support alternatives to plastic;

Private sector plays a critical role in increasing financing, fostering technological innovation, and improving operational efficiency across the waste value chain;

Civil society actors can raise awareness on plastic pollution, encourage the public to change behaviors in the use of plastic, and implement community initiatives to supplement actions by public and private sectors.

World Bank’s role

The World Bank Group supports countries to reduce the plastic in the ocean, improve recycling, and decrease plastic consumption. This is in line with the World Bank Group’s vision of creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet.

The World Bank Group is uniquely positioned to tackle plastic pollution. Over several decades, the Group has amassed significant experience in supporting policy and regulatory reforms, financing pollution prevention projects, offering technical expertise, and connecting stakeholders.

The Bank is also helping countries to better position and prepare for critical negotiations under the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) plastic pollution process.

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Till date, the World Bank has financed projects worth more than US$2 billion to improve waste management across all regions. This investment has created jobs, supported small and medium enterprises, and improved investments in waste treatment facilities.

For example, investment projects in Cambodia, Laos, Senegal, ASEAN, South Asia, South East Asia are advancing the World Bank’s vision to address plastic pollution. PROBLUE , the World Bank’s umbrella multi-donor trust fund on the Blue Economy, has supported 130 activities since 2019.

Overall, the World Bank Groups has promoted integrated solutions across waste management, environment, tourism and water sectors; supported policy reforms, technology transfer, and investments; provided financial advisory services for sustainable financing; and driven investments in public and private infrastructure.

Some emerging results include:

South Africa: The World Bank pioneered the registration of waste reclaimers with the African Reclaimers Organization. So far, 9,616 waste reclaimers have been registered in the South Africa Waste Pickers Registration System. The waste reclaimers collect and sort plastic waste that would otherwise pollute the land or sea. They then sell it to collection centers or directly to recyclers.

Philippines: Two development policy loans of over US$ 1 billion from the World Bank helped to implement extended producer responsibility to recover or divert 163,000 metric tons of post-consumer plastic packaging waste from 2023 to 2024.

Sierra Leone: High-level engagement with policy makers and cutting-edge diagnostics guided significant policy changes to reduce single use plastics. Hotels and restaurants were encouraged to shift single-use plastic packaging for shampoos and soaps to refillable dispensers. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise circular business mentorship program helped to expand markets to several local producers.

Brazil: In 2023, IFC committed an eight-year corporate loan of BRL 130 million/ $23 million to Orizon Meio Ambiente S.A, an environmental service provider, to help promote innovative waste solutions and increase recycling capacity. This marked a milestone as the first sustainability-linked loan for the waste management sector in emerging markets.

Learn more about how the World Bank Group is addressing plastic pollution here.

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2025