UNEP latest report finds that plastic pollution disproportionately affects marginalized communities and those living in close proximity to plastic production and waste sites, beyond inefficient or even sometimes non-existing waste management systems.

Ikea starts buy-back scheme offering vouchers for old furniture — Used products returned in as-new condition with no scratches will be bought for 50 percent of the original price, while items with minor scratches will be bought for 40 percent. Furniture that is well used with several scratches will be bought for 30 percent.

The CMaR collaborative shows how an experiment with celebrity endorsement could influence behavior and reduce plastic pollution. Very encouraging results!

Plastic pollution in the ocean is a severe problem for Chile. César Salazar, Associate Professor at Universidad del Bio-Bio, Chile, and a senior researcher at EfD Chile explains why and what can be done to tackle this.

Identifying the sources of non-point source pollution: Research progress and emerging challenges – A review

Government of Gujarat has provided strong leadership developing Institutional Structures for Implementation and Monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal's and prepared Gujarat Sustainable Vision 2030 document. The High Power Committee (HPC) formed under chairmanship of Hon'ble Chief Secretary to review the progress of SDGs and provides directives for future improvement. All the State Govt. schemes / Programmes (700 +) including Centrally Sponsored Schemes have been mapped with SDG's and linked budgetary provisions to the outcome based budget since 2017-18.

8 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean each year, endangering wildlife and polluting ecosystems. The issue has worsened during the pandemic. A new legislative guide by UNEP and WRI outlines 4 ways on how the law can be used to tackle plastic pollution and support a circular plastics economy.

Check out Rwanda's e-waste recycling plant! In addition to better managing and recycling waste, including hazardous e-waste, since its operations began last year, it reports having cut 1,648 tonnes of carbon emissions and created more than 500 jobs. They've also repaired a refurbished more than 5,000 computers already.

There's a lot happening on circular economy and plastics, and looking forward to even more to come this year! Here are a few highlights from the week:
* Three new country market studies on plastics circularity opportunities (Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia) added to our case study library (https://www.greengrowthknowledge.org/case-studies)

* IFC ClimateBiz Podcast: Marine Plastics: Navigating the Circular Currents (https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_cor…) - "With existing technology, we can probably get 50% of the way with ocean plastic prevention, but that means we need a step change in recycling technology to achieve the next 50% -- things like advanced recycling technology, chemical recycling, commercialising and industrialising some of these processes"

* World Bank blog - 5 reasons why South Asia is coming together to beat marine plastic pollution (https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/5-reasons-why-south-a…)

Improved region-specific emission factors for enteric methane emissions from cattle in smallholder mixed crop-livestock systems of Nandi County, Kenya