Prevention of Plastic Waste in Central America and the Caribbean – Belize

Plastic waste pollution is contributing to the increasing destruction of Caribbean marine ecosystems. These ecosystems have many vital environmental functions and are the basis for important economic sectors in the region such as fishing and tourism. To preserve ecosystems, plastic waste must be prevented from entering the ocean. At the same time, the amount of existing plastic waste must be reduced. However, recycling systems in the region are often underdeveloped. Often, only high-value materials (e.g., metals) are sent to a recycling process, while plastics end up in landfills. The private sector lacks capacity for sustainable waste and environmental management. In addition, awareness of the environmental impact of plastic waste is low in both the business community and civil society.

The regional "Caribe Circular" project in the Caribbean, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), aims to improve the political, economic and social framework to prevent plastic waste leaking in the Caribbean. As part of this project, adelphi supported GIZ and its partner the Department of Environment in Belize in implementing country-specific activities. These activities aimed at promoting regional exchange and networking of relevant actors in order to intensify the exchange on the project topic. At the same time, opportunities for the enhancing the role of the private sector for improving the balance of plastic waste through innovative value chains were mapped.  Based on the analysis of regulatory framework as well as private sector and non-government organisation initiatives, thefoundation for a more comprehensive waste management pilot project in Belmopan was created which in turn will help implementing plastic waste prevention models in Belize.