Organizations

100 Projects in 100 Countries

Year-round rolling competition from the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Global Service Committee, presented with the Environmental Xperience at EarthX and CNN’s Call to Earth.

5 Gyres Institute

Santa Monica, California, USA | Founded 2009

Science-led nonprofit that measured plastic in all five subtropical ocean gyres and uses that research to drive policy and corporate change.

Algalita Marine Research and Education

Long Beach, California, USA | Founded 1994

Founded by Captain Charles Moore, who brought the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to public attention; now focused on youth education.

Algramo

Santiago, Chile

Chilean refill company whose smart dispensers and reusable containers let shoppers buy exactly what they need without new packaging.

Alliance to End Plastic Waste

Singapore

Industry-funded alliance investing in waste collection and recycling projects. Listed for reference; its members include major plastic producers.

Basel Convention Secretariat

Geneva, Switzerland

Its plastic waste amendments, in force since 2021, require consent before hard-to-recycle plastic waste is shipped between countries.

Beyond Plastics

Bennington College, Vermont, USA | Founded 2019

US policy project that pairs plastics research with model legislation and training for local advocates.

Bocas Recycle Center

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Local recycling company in Bocas del Toro, Panama, that collects plastics, cardboard, cartons, cans and glass, and is partnering with One Earth One Ocean and Seas & Straws to add ocean plastic recovery.

Break Free From Plastic

Founded 2016

Global movement of thousands of organizations; its brand audits identify which companies’ packaging is found most often in the environment.

Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty

Companies, financial institutions and NGOs, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF, asking for harmonised global rules.

CIEL (Center for International Environmental Law)

Washington, DC and Geneva

Legal experts tracking the plastics treaty and the health impacts of plastic across its life cycle.

Circular Action Alliance

Producer responsibility organization that runs packaging EPR programs on behalf of brands in several US states.

Circulate Capital

Investment firm financing waste and recycling businesses in South and Southeast Asia, where leakage is highest.

Clean Up Australia

Sydney, Australia | Founded 1989

Founded by Ian Kiernan in 1989, Clean Up Australia Day brings communities, schools, businesses and Rotary clubs together each year to clear litter, much of it plastic, from parks, beaches and waterways.

Closed Loop Partners

New York, USA

Invests in recycling and reuse infrastructure and runs industry consortia testing reusable cups and packaging.

EarthX

Dallas, Texas, USA

Dallas-based environmental nonprofit behind one of the world’s largest Earth Day gatherings; host of the Environmental Xperience.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Cowes, United Kingdom | Founded 2010

Leading circular economy think tank; its Global Commitment brings together companies and governments behind shared targets for plastic packaging.

EndPlasticSoup (Rotary)

Amsterdam, Netherlands | Founded 2018

Rotary movement started by Amsterdam clubs in 2018 that mobilizes Rotary, Rotaract and Interact clubs worldwide to end plastic soup by 2050.

ESRAG (Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group)

Rotary Action Group that supports clubs on environmental projects; home of the Plastic Solutions Taskforce and EndPlasticSoup.

GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives)

Network of grassroots groups building zero waste cities and fair work for waste pickers, as an alternative to burning plastic.

Global Plastic Action Partnership

Hosted by the World Economic Forum; helps countries build national plastic action roadmaps with government, business and civil society.

High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution

Group of countries, co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda, pushing for a treaty that covers the full life cycle of plastic, including production.

IUCN

Gland, Switzerland

International Union for Conservation of Nature; runs plastic programmes with island and coastal states. EarthX is an IUCN member.

Loopway

Featured partner: a circular economy directory covering all 50 US states and a growing list of countries, connecting people to the organizations, programs and projects that keep reusable materials out of landfills.

Minderoo Foundation

Perth, Australia

Publishes the Plastic Waste Makers Index, which traces single-use plastic back to the companies that produce the polymer.

Ocean Conservancy

Washington, DC, USA

Runs the International Coastal Cleanup, whose volunteer data on what washes up has shaped bans and product redesigns around the world.

Ocean Recovery Alliance

Hong Kong

Hong Kong based group behind practical tools that help cities and businesses measure and reduce plastic leakage.

OECD Environment Directorate

Paris, France

Publishes the Global Plastics Outlook, the most cited economic projections of plastic use, waste and leakage to 2060.

One Earth One Ocean

Munich and Kiel, Germany | Founded 2011

German nonprofit that builds its own waste-collecting boats and runs local collection and sorting teams to clear plastic from rivers, harbours and coasts.

Parley for the Oceans

Works with brands and creatives on its Avoid, Intercept, Redesign strategy, turning intercepted plastic into products.

Plastic Bank

Vancouver, Canada | Founded 2013

Pays collectors in coastal communities a premium for plastic they gather, using a digital record to trace the material to brands that reuse it.

Plastic Free Bali (Rotary)

West Bali, Indonesia

A Rotary Foundation global grant by the Rotary Clubs of Bali Seminyak, Woodend (Victoria) and Perth with Yayasan Biosfir Indonesia, bringing waste sorting, composting, recycling and door-to-door education to four villages beside West Bali National Park.

Plastic Free Foundation (Plastic Free July)

Perth, Australia | Founded 2011

Runs the Plastic Free July challenge, which millions of people join each year to cut single-use plastic at home, school and work.

Plastic Oceans International

Uses documentary film and education to change how people use plastic, with chapters in several countries.

Plastic Pollution Coalition

Founded 2009

Alliance of organizations, businesses and individuals working for a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts.

Plastic Soup Foundation

Amsterdam, Netherlands | Founded 2011

Amsterdam advocacy group focused on microplastics, human health and education, and a reference partner for Rotary’s EndPlasticSoup.

PR3 Reuse Standards

Develops shared standards so reusable containers work across brands, retailers and return points.

Precious Plastic

Founded 2013

Free open-source plans for small shredders, extruders and presses so any community can recycle plastic into products locally.

Product Stewardship Institute

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Tracks and helps design extended producer responsibility laws across US states, including packaging.

RiverRecycle

Helsinki, Finland | Founded 2019

Finnish company that installs river cleaning systems on heavily polluted rivers and turns the collected plastic into building boards, creating local jobs.

Rotary International

Evanston, Illinois, USA

More than a million members in over 46,000 clubs. The environment became Rotary’s seventh area of focus in 2020, opening Foundation grants to plastic projects.

Rotary Waste to Resource Hub (Philippines)

Victoria, Laguna, Philippines

A Rotary global grant with Australian and Philippine clubs, led by Dana Asia and Nexuz, turning hard-to-recycle plastic sachets into eco-bricks and pavers in Victoria, Laguna: 7.2 tonnes recycled a year and 12 jobs created.

Seabin Project

Australia

Floating bins for marinas and ports that catch floating litter and microplastics, paired with local data and school programmes.

Seas & Straws

Bocas del Toro, Panama, and Germany | Founded 2018

Founded by eco warrior Jana Koebel: a plastic-free living and travel hub, plastic-free consulting for hotels, and on-the-ground recycling projects with One Earth One Ocean in Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Surfrider Foundation

San Clemente, California, USA | Founded 1984

Coastal network whose chapters win local bag and foam bans and certify Ocean Friendly Restaurants that drop single-use plastic.

Take 3 for the Sea

Australian movement asking everyone to pick up three pieces of rubbish whenever they leave the beach, a waterway or anywhere else.

Tangaroa Blue Foundation

Runs the Australian Marine Debris Initiative, where volunteers log what they collect on beaches so the data can trace litter to its source and stop it there.

The Environmental Xperience

Global sustainability event series at EarthX where projects like RiverRecycle and One Earth One Ocean present their work.

The Great Bubble Barrier

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Uses a curtain of air bubbles across a canal or river to steer plastic to the bank for collection while fish and boats pass freely.

The Ocean Cleanup

Rotterdam, Netherlands | Founded 2013

Develops river Interceptors to stop plastic before it reaches the sea and large ocean systems to remove plastic already floating in garbage patches.

The Recycling Partnership

Works with US communities and companies to improve curbside recycling access, carts, education and sorting.

Tijuana River Project

Cross-border river pollution reporting and restoration on the Tijuana River, linked to Rotary global grant proposals with RiverRecycle.

UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

Nairobi, Kenya

Hosts the negotiations for a global plastics treaty and runs the Clean Seas campaign, which One Earth One Ocean has partnered with since 2018.

Upstream

Champions reuse over single-use and helps cities and restaurants switch to reusable foodware.

WWF: No Plastic in Nature

WWF’s global plastics programme, working on the treaty, extended producer responsibility and reuse systems.

Zero Waste Europe

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels network helping European cities cut waste and shaping EU packaging and reuse rules.