World Economic Forum’s plastic group expands for systemic waste management

The World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) has welcomed seven new members — Angola, Bangladesh, Gabon, Guatemala, Kenya, Senegal, and Tanzania — making it the largest global initiative dedicated to tackling the root causes of plastic pollution and advancing a global circular plastic economy. 

GPAP now includes 25 countries with a combined population of over 1.5 billion people. The initiative comprises governments, businesses, civil society, and other experts. 

The community aims to drive systemic solutions to key challenges such as advancing sustainable materials, strengthening recycling systems, and tackling GHG emissions. 

The seven new countries bring fresh momentum and new perspectives to GPAP’s mission of amplifying impact, enabling best practice sharing, and strengthening national and international efforts to reduce plastic pollution. 

Rethinking plastic

GPAP’s National Action Roadmaps, which are country-specific strategies informed by the network’s collective experience, has already mobilized US$3.1 billion in investments, created safer jobs for informal waste workers, and supported countries in achieving measurable progress on sustainability and climate resilience.

“Reaching this 25-nation milestone is not just a celebration of numbers, it’s a testament to the growing global determination to tackle one of the world’s most pressing challenges,” says Clemence Schmid, GPAP’s director. 

“These partnerships are not just symbolic, they represent concrete commitments to rethinking how plastics are produced, managed, and reused. Together, we are charting a path toward a circular plastic economy that benefits people and the planet.”

But whether global systemic change in pollution can be achieved remains to be seen. The latest round of negotiations for a UN Global Plastic Treaty ended in November without much progress achieved, and another round of talks scheduled for this year.

Plastic waste remains a global challenge. A reported 6 million metric tons enter oceans annually, and over twice that amount pollutes land. GPAP says that mismanaged plastic waste is severely disrupting ecosystems, harming biodiversity, and threatening human health and livelihoods.

Economic opportunities 

By uniting 25 nations under a shared framework, GPAP will drive collaborative action and innovative solutions to help nations halt plastic waste leakage, transition to sustainable materials, and protect ecosystems and livelihoods from its negative impacts. 

GPAP also highlights plastic pollution as a contributor to climate change, responsible for an estimated 1.8 billion metric tons of GHG emissions annually. The initiative says that through its systemic approach to waste management, landfill emissions such as methane can be “drastically” reduced. 

It further estimates that circular solutions could create up to 6 million jobs globally by 2030, with the plastics sector driving much of this transformation.

GPAP aims to continue bringing countries and other stakeholders together to build a circular economy for plastic across its entire life cycle and transform waste materials into valuable resources that can drive sustainable, equitable, and resilient economic growth.

Since its launch in 2018, GPAP has driven measurable progress, securing over US$3.1 billion for waste management solutions, improving livelihoods for over 12,000 informal waste workers, and enabling transformative impact across its growing global network.