Introduction Over the past few decades, global plastics production has grown significantly. Plastic is a highly durable material with a wide range of uses, including preserving food, insulating structures, enhancing electronics, and making vehicles more fuel-efficient, among many other benefits. Yet, the sheer magnitude of plastic consumption in our societies results in a high production-related carbon footprint, enormous volumes of waste, persistent pollution, and harm to wildlife and ecosystems. Research by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development found that the quantity of plastics produced globally has seen a dramatic increase, growing from 2 million tons in 1950 to 460 million tons in 2019. Without immediate action, this figure could triple to 1.23 billion tons by 2060. Additionally global plastic waste generation more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, rising from 156 million tons to 353 million tons. Nearly two-thirds of this plastic waste comes from plastics with lifetimes of under 5 years, with 40% coming from packaging, 12% from consumer goods, and 11% from clothing and textiles. According to a study by the UN Environment Programme, over 14 million metric tons of plastic enter and damage aquatic ecosystems annually. Moreover, plastic-related greenhouse gas emissions are predicted to account for 15% of total emissions by 2050, even with continued efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. As such, plastic pollution has become a critical issue for ecosystem health. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, the UN Environment Assembly reached a consensus in March 2022 to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution by 2024. Within this instrument, the agreed-upon priorities are climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution reduction. Yet, while the environmental impacts of plastic waste are increasingly documented, addressing this issue on a scale requires innovative solutions. Digital technologies provide powerful tools for monitoring, managing, and reducing plastic pollution, and ultimately will lead to a shift toward a circular plastic economy. Digital Solutions for Plastic Pollution to Enable Circular Economy Digitalization of plastic pollution control involves using advanced technologies to enhance the monitoring, collection, sorting, and recycling of plastics, and improving efficiency and transparency across the life cycle of waste management. It is now essential to advance this digitalization to reduce waste, explore better solutions for ocean health, and increase the natural capital investment and climate finance for ecosystem health and regional post-COVID recovery. Additionally, plastic pollution control requires strong interagency cooperation and active involvement of multiple stakeholders. Digital initiatives can play a key role here, for example financial technology supporting shifts in consumer behavior, blockchain technology enhancing traceability in extended producer responsibility policies, and big data platforms acting as the basis of zero-waste cities. Transitioning to a circular plastic economy is indispensable for mitigating the escalating challenges of plastic pollution. This transition can be supported by digital innovations that not only help reduce the volume of plastic entering rivers and oceans, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, but also foster economic opportunities by creating new jobs in sustainable and technological sectors. Digital technologies can help bring about a circular economy in a number of ways. Digital innovations can facilitate the systemic changes required to transition to a circular plastic economy. For instance, these technologies can optimize every stage of the life cycle—from production to recycling—and ensure sustainability is integrated at each step. Robust and inclusive digitalization efforts are essential at local, national, and international levels to meet the environmental, economic, and climate objectives of a circular plastic economy. By embracing digital solutions, stakeholders can achieve more coordinated and impactful outcomes across global supply chains. Digital technologies enable the tracking and management of materials throughout their life cycle, and changing consumer behavior. By using data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, real-time insights can be gained into the whereabouts and condition of materials, helping to ensure they are reused or recycled instead of discarded. Plastic Pollution Control to be Aligned with Climate Change and Biodiversity Actions In its role as the Climate Bank of Asia and the Pacific, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has made substantial efforts to address climate change, environmental pollution, and biodiversity loss. ADB aims to deliver cumulative climate financing of $100 billion between 2019 and 2030, including in projects that tackle plastic-related environmental challenges. In 2023, it significantly increased its climate finance efforts and committed $9.8 billion from its own resources, with $5.5 billion allocated to mitigation and $4.3 billion to adaptation. This represents a 46% increase in its 2022 climate financing commitments. Overall, ADB committed $23.6 billion toward fostering sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific in 2023. Furthermore, in November 2023, ADB enhanced its annual commitment capacity to over $36 billion, an increase of approximately $10 billion, or about 40%. Recently, it set an ambitious target to allocate 50% of its annual lending to climate finance by 2030. In May 2019, ADB launched the Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies to provide $5 billion in financing for ocean health from 2019–2024, supported by co-financing from partners. This strategic investment is crucial in addressing the pervasive issue of plastic pollution in marine environments. Importantly, the plan includes promoting circular economy practices, which are essential for sustainable waste management. These efforts are particularly relevant as the region faces significant challenges with plastic pollution, a critical issue for ecosystem health. For example, as both the world's largest producer and consumer of plastic, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is positioned to take a unique, leading role in implementing actions on plastic pollution. Within the PRC, ADB has adopted an ecosystem approach to increase the country’s natural capital investment and climate finance, especially in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins. This includes providing over $4 billion in project and technical assistance financing to foster integrated and sustainable waste management practices. Moreover, in May 2022, the CEO of the Global Environmental Facility endorsed a $9-million grant project to help minimize agricultural field plastic and conserve biodiversity by promoting best practices on ecological compensation in the Yangtze River basin. Recommendations Given the complexities and scale of plastics control, an integrated ecosystem approach that enhances synergies between stakeholders with the support of digitalization should be further promoted to control plastic pollution that threatens biodiversity and contributes to climate change. Such synergies are expected to bring about technical and operational efficiency, which in turn, will create new opportunities to leverage digital transformation within the circular plastic economy. The following actions are suggested to the PRC and coastal countries to further combat plastic pollution for ecosystem health further: Enable policies that support the development of a circular plastic economy. The government can establish and enforce policies that actively encourage the adoption of digital technologies within the plastic sector. This includes funding research and pilot projects that explore innovative digital solutions for waste management. Additionally, data analytics can be used to understand and influence consumer behavior and industrial practices, and ultimately inform regulatory frameworks. By using digital tools to track trends and understand usage patterns, the government can create policies that directly support the transition to a sustainable and circular plastic economy. Promote digital governance involving multiple stakeholders. International organizations and governments can encourage partnerships among government agencies, private sector companies, and technology providers to develop integrated digital solutions that enhance transparency and efficiency in plastic waste management. This collaboration can be driven by using blockchain for greater traceability in the supply chain and IoT solutions for real-time monitoring and management of plastic waste. Such coordinated efforts ensure that all stakeholders play an active role in reducing plastic pollution through shared digital platforms, especially in changing consumers' behavior on plastic use. Invest in digital life cycle management for greening supply chain. International organizations and governments can enhance the development of digital monitoring systems to track the entire life cycle of plastic production, consumption, and waste. These systems can pinpoint and address leakages in real-time by utilizing technologies such as IoT and Artificial Intelligence, thereby helping to prevent plastic from entering ecosystems and calculating greenhouse emission or carbon footprints. The eco-labelling and sustainable procurement would play an important role in green trade, which the World Trade Organization is promoting. Advance digital tools for integrating river and ocean ecosystems. Implementing digital technologies, such as remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems, enables precise monitoring of water quality and the detection of pollutants in rivers and then oceans. The digital platforms for rivers management effectively control the entry of plastic pollution into oceans through ADB’s projects in Yangtze and Yellow River basins. This article was prepared and submitted by the author in 2023 while she was Environment Specialist of Natural Capital and Climate Change at the Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office, Sectors Group, ADB. Resources Asian Development Bank. 2022. Healthy Oceans Implementation Plan. ADB. People’s Republic of China: Innovating Eco-Compensation Mechanisms in Yangtze River Basin. D. Lawder. ADB to Devote Half Its Lending to Climate Finance by 2030. Reuters. News Article. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2022. Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060. OECD Publishing. United Nations. The Yellow River Ecological Corridor Program. United Nations Environment Programme. 2023. Turning Off the Tap: How the World Can End Plastic Pollution and Create a Circular Economy. Ask the Experts Dongmei Guo Senior Safeguards Specialist (Environment), Office of Safeguards, Asian Development Bank Dongmei Guo has worked on environmental safeguards, climate risk assessment, climate finance, GEP accounting, and eco-compensation for ADB operations. Prior to joining ADB, she was a PRC State Council Expert and served as a director/chief in MEE centers. She has worked on transboundary water issues, WTO/CTE, and the Green Belt and Road initiative, collaborating with more than 30 countries and organizations. She holds a PhD in Economics of Natural Resources and an MSc in Climate Change and Water Resources. Follow Dongmei Guo on Asian Development Bank (ADB) The Asian Development Bank is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. Follow Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Leave your question or comment in the section below: View the discussion thread.