South Asia, United by Plastic: A Region Seeks Collective Clout

Colombo, Sri Lanka Plastic Free Rivers and Seas: A Vision for South Asia Regional Roundtable

Kolekt Director, Thierry Sanders, who spoke at the summit, reflects on the roundtable discussions:

Thierry Sanders speaking at Plastic Free Rivers and Seas: A Vision for South Asia Regional Roundtable

Leo Baekeland’s 1907 invention, Bakelite, ushered in the age of plastics. He could not have foreseen its unintended consequence: uniting South Asia’s disparate governments in a shared battle against the ubiquitous pollutant. In Colombo, under the auspices of *SACEP, a regional body supported by UNOPS and the World Bank, officials from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives have convened for the ‘Plastic Free Rivers and Seas’ summit, a gathering that has unexpectedly yielded two potent regional ambitions.

Firstly, a nascent consensus is emerging on the need for a unified market for recyclable waste. While India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan boast established recycling industries, smaller neighbours, lacking such capacity, seek to monetise their waste streams. Trade barriers, exacerbated by Kafkaesque certification standards, often of European origin, currently impede this exchange. The potential for intra-regional trade, however, is substantial, promising economic savings for the small countries and environmental dividends, and economic gains for the large countries, mainly India.

Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, the region’s governments recognise the strategic imperative of a unified voice at the forthcoming sixth session of the UN Plastic Treaty negotiations in Switzerland this August. With a combined population of 2.5 billion, South Asia’s collective influence could be decisive. Such unity is not merely desirable, but essential. Having recently conducted training for this region’s governments on waste-management financing, I am advocating for the swift adoption of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations across the region. India has already taken this step. Full implementation would unlock an estimated $7.5bn annually in additional revenue for waste management—a figure that could reshape the region’s environmental landscape.

The prize is considerable. A unified South Asian stance on plastic pollution, coupled with a functioning regional market for recyclables and the financial premium of EPR, could transform the region's approach to waste. Yet, translating ambition into action will require overcoming ingrained political and bureaucratic hurdles. If successful, however, South Asia could demonstrate that even the most intractable environmental challenges can be addressed through regional cooperation, a lesson the world urgently needs to learn. SACEP could be the convener to make this happen!

* SACEP = South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme.