The End Plastic Pollution International Collaboration (EPPIC) will develop actions in Central America, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to implement a plastic circular economy with support from the US Department of State.

EPPIC will promote global alliances for innovation, investments and solutions focused on the elimination and re-use of plastic, promoting the coordination of actions between governments and businesses, including those in the packaging industry.

Led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), other EPPIC partners include the Ocean Foundation, Searious Business and the Aspen Institute.

The project complements the Global Plastics Treaty, for which the fifth and final negotiating meeting is scheduled in November 2024 in Busan, South Korea.

EPPIC will aim to work closely with governments to develop national action plans that implement the future agreement.

In Central America, EPPIC will operate in Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala through the IUCN Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

During the launch event in Costa Rica, IUCN regional director Úrsula Parrilla commented: “Addressing the plastic crisis is addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis that humanity faces; hence the urgency of initiatives, such as EPPIC, that tackle this problem in a systemic way.”

Regional environment officer of the US Embassy in Costa Rica Iván Ríos added: “EPPIC represents an exceptional opportunity for the public and private sectors to come together for the benefit of a cleaner and healthier planet for all.”