Ocean Conservancy Report: To Tackle Ocean Plastic Crisis, Engage Women in South and Southeast Asia

A report commissioned by D.C.-based environmental nonprofit Ocean Conservancy and released at an event at the National Press Club shows that engaging women in South and Southeast Asia may be critical in reducing mismanaged plastic waste in the region—a key contributor to the ocean plastic crisis.

Based on extensive in-country interviews and surveys, The Role of Gender in Waste Management assesses gender differences in waste collection and recycling systems in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. A 2015 paper in the journal Science found that these four countries are among the top 20 global contributors of ocean plastic, with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam figuring in the top five. Ocean Conservancy analysis has shown that investing in waste management systems in the region could significantly curb the flow of plastic into the ocean.

“Many of us take for granted that someone will pick up our trash and recyclables from the curb once a week, or that clean water can come from a tap rather than a single-use plastic bottle. Unfortunately in many parts of the world, that isn’t the case, and these differences contribute to the flow of plastic into the ocean,” said Emily Woglom, executive vice president of Ocean Conservancy. “At its core, ocean plastic is a development issue; and as with all development issues, engaging women goes a long way.”

Topline findings showed that across all four countries women are more likely than men to handle and manage household waste disposal; women’s participation in waste collection and recycling systems is often limited to the informal sector, where they have less job security and access to healthcare and other resources; and women are generally more interested than men in learning about proper waste management. The report suggests that gearing public awareness and education campaigns about what and how to recycle toward women would be most effective in changing collective behavior. The report also identifies specific interventions—like providing vehicles—that would level the playing field for women working in the waste sector.

The report release comes less than a week after the United Nations celebrated World Oceans Day on June 8, which this year focused on the theme “Gender and the Ocean.” In a statement marking the occasion, UN Secretary General António Guterres said, “Confronting gender inequality is essential to achieving the ocean-related Goal and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We must ensure an end to unsafe work conditions and guarantee that women have an equal role in managing ocean-related activities.”

Every year, approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean from land as a result of mismanaged material streams—an excess of non-recyclable plastics, a lack of waste collection, or limits in waste infrastructure like landfills and recycling facilities. Plastic impacts more than 800 marine species and has been documented everywhere from the deepest ocean trenches to Arctic ice.

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About Ocean Conservancy

Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. Learn more at www.oceanconservancy.org

About Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas® Program

Ocean Conservancy has led the fight for a clean, trash-free ocean since 1986, when the organization launched its first annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) on a beach in Texas. Since then, the ICC has expanded to more than 150 countries and has mobilized millions of volunteers to remove more than 300 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways around the globe, all the while logging each item and building the world’s largest database on marine debris. Recognizing that cleanups alone will not solve the growing ocean plastic crisis, Ocean Conservancy has leveraged that data and invested in additional science to better understand the sources of ocean plastic. In 2012, Ocean Conservancy launched the Trash Free Seas Alliance®, uniting conservationists, scientists and members of the private sector to work together for realistic and impactful solutions to the problem. And in 2019, Ocean Conservancy assumed the leadership of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative to reduce and remove lost and abandoned fishing gear entering the ocean. Ocean Conservancy has put ocean plastic on the agenda at home and abroad, actively engaging with individuals, governments and corporations around the world who want to make a difference on the issue. Learn more at www.oceanconservancy.org/trashfreeseas.