Singapore-based marketplace PCX Markets has said it has prevented 100,000 tonnes of plastic waste from dispersing in nature through plastic credit issuance in the last four years.
PCX Markets reported a 34% increase in total impact delivered since the beginning of 2024, attributing the growth to the rising demand from brands supporting downstream cleanup activities and funding infrastructure development to complement upstream reduction strategies.
In July, the company said the impact on recycling and upcycling of credits transacted on its marketplace grew by 1,500% in 2023, claiming the sale helped fund the recycling or upcycling of 9,000 tonnes of plastic waste last year.
“PCX Markets financed the diversion of 100 million kilograms of mixed plastic waste from nature to date,” PCX Markets said in a statement.
“That’s equivalent to 6.6 billion 15-gram plastic bottles, and enough to circle the earth 25 times.”
PCX was founded in the Philippines back in 2019 as a non-profit, with the first plastic credits against waste diversion issued in September 2020.
Currently, the marketplace lists 34 projects across 11 countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia, with prices ranging from $106 to $960 per credit.
Each credit represents one tonne of plastic waste recycled or collected and verified by a third-party auditor.
In 2024, the company added 10 collection, recycling, and upcycling projects to its marketplace, including several from new markets such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Australia.
Overall, 27 of the 34 projects on the marketplace are certified under the recently updated Plastic Pollution Reduction Standard (PPRS), managed by PCX Markets’ sister organisation PCX Solutions, while five – based in Thailand, Australia, and Ivory Coast – use Verra’s Plastic Waste Reduction Standard (PWRS).
An estimated 8.3 bln tonnes of plastic waste has been generated between 1950 and 2015, and plastic production has doubled since 2000 to nearly 400 mln metric tonnes per year.
“A problem of this magnitude requires a multi-pronged solution comprised of upstream reduction, innovation, and market-based mechanisms like credits that encourage the private sector to make investments into waste management infrastructure,” the company said in a statement.
“The plastic crisis is so vast that we need all solutions working in parallel – upstream reduction, a functional circular economy, scaled next-gen alternatives, and ready-made, accessible solutions to legacy plastic waste like plastic credits,” added Sebastian DiGrande, CEO of PCX Markets.
In recent months, PCX Markets and Verra have advocated for plastic credits to be included in the UN plastic treaty as a key financing mechanism to help plug the funding gap on waste collection and management, poised to reach an estimated $40 bln by 2040, though some critics have raised concerns over their effectiveness.
The fifth and last round of the UN plastic talks is scheduled to be held over Nov. 25-Dec. 1 in Busan, South Korea.
By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com
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