Guest blog by Daniel S. Padila, Project Director, Urban Ocean Ocean Conservancy
From June 18-20, thanks to funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Ocean Conservancy and its partners hosted the Urban Ocean Summit in Chennai, India – one of the 12 Urban Ocean Cities. Since 2019, the Urban Ocean program has championed circular economy principles, raised awareness of ocean plastic pollution, assessed waste management systems, and supported cities in developing projects that address the interrelated challenges of ocean plastics and resilience. The program is jointly implemented by Resilient Cities Network, Ocean Conservancy and The Circulate Initiative.
This summit in Chennai was the first opportunity since the program began to gather Urban Ocean partners in-person, including over 60 representatives from cities, academia, civil society, and the private sector to share knowledge, and create potential funding and collaboration opportunities to support cities in their journey to reduce plastic pollution in their communities.
Cities across the globe were able to learn from one another through knowledge exchange sessions and had the opportunity to present on projects they are advancing to reduce plastic pollution and address gaps in their waste management systems. For example:
Santiago, Chile shared updates on their national Circular Strategy that will support ongoing sustainability projects.
Melaka, Malaysia showcased their innovative point-of-collection schemes for recyclables, ranging from drive-up drop-offs to compacting vending machines that reward users with credits.
Mumbai, India is building on dry waste centers to capture more recyclable materials.
Surat and Chennai, India are raising awareness of plastic pollution and testing zero-waste neighborhoods.
Panama City, Panama is pursuing support to expand their ocean-bound plastic recycling.
Santa Fe, Argentina is expanding a zero-waste compound built to educate and process recyclables and recoverable materials.
Salvador, Brazil is building on a robust network of recycling cooperatives to improve collection and reduce leakage of single-use plastics through a city-owned community center model.
Athens, Georgia, United States of America, the University of Georgia Circularity Informatics Lab showcased the Circularity Assessment Protocol, one of the key tools that Urban Ocean utilizes, and shared updates on research using satellite images to locate and measure river pollution.
Furthermore, Urban Ocean partners initiated collaboration among attendees. The Circulate Initiative facilitated a panel that highlighted the connection between plastics and climate. It featured Ocean Conservancy and speakers that specialize in the inclusion of the informal sector and mobilizing cities through intersectional resilience goals. Resilient Cities Network also led a workshop where all attendees explored connections to better support each other’s sustainability efforts.
To showcase the mission and promise of Urban Ocean, Summit attendees visited a zero-waste neighborhood, in Kasturba Nagar, where Urban Ocean has been supporting the Chennai Resilience Center in piloting an extensive on-the-ground approach to educate, increase recycling, and divert organic waste, all for the benefit of the community and the environment. The zero-waste pilot project activities include kickstarting green roofs and testing collection methods for multi-layer plastic films. As a result of these projects recycling rates increased and contamination reduced, leading to an overwhelmingly positive reception among community residents.
Having over 60 attendees that met in person, who built and nurtured relationships, was not only a great outcome of the Summit, but is also an integral component to fostering the growth of a global circular economy. The Summit provided a unique opportunity for representatives from private companies to connect and explore collaborations and meet others in the sustainability industry who are ready to speed up the transition away from single-use plastics. The Urban Ocean program is now energized and ready to keep the momentum going to reduce plastic pollution in cities across the globe.
Urban Ocean partners extend our thanks to NOAA’s Marine Debris Program for funding this first-ever in-person Urban Ocean Summit and look forward to building upon the knowledge, ideas, and connections the cities built during their time in Chennai.
For more information on Urban Ocean, please contact Daniel Padilla Ochoa at dpadillaochoa@oceanconservancy.org.