The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) announced a partnership with the Grameen Creative Lab to support development of Zero Plastic Waste Cities to reduce plastic waste leaking into the environment.

Zero Plastic Waste Cities are being developed by the Grameen Creative Lab, an organization founded and led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus. This project will develop and implement social businesses—tackling one or more social problems in a financially self-sustaining way—to enable improved municipal waste management systems. Starting in 2020, projects will be launched in two separate cities in India and Vietnam.

"The Alliance to End Plastic Waste and the Grameen Creative Lab share the goal of helping to end plastic waste in the environment and creating new opportunities for individuals and communities while doing so," said Jacob Duer, president and CEO of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, in a statement. "Our critical work together in India and Vietnam will enable meaningful, sustainable improvement in the protection of our environment and in the quality of life for all those who live, work and play in Zero Plastic Waste Cities."

"We need to build a circular economy in order to achieve zero plastic waste pollution. Entrepreneurship and social business will go a long way in achieving this goal. Grameen Creative Lab wants to create new opportunities for waste pickers, and we are delighted to partner with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste for this initiative," said Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, in a statement.

Harnessing the potential of the informal sector is important to increase waste collection and provide economic opportunity. The social businesses aim is to empower different players in the formal and informal waste value chain to increase conversion of collected waste into recycled material, supporting greater circularity and economic empowerment.

Grameen Creative Lab is identifying local partners for implementing the projects and conducting pilot assessments in the two countries. The two cities will be announced in early 2020, and Grameen Creative Lab also will explore approaches to scale these social businesses to additional cities in 2021. The projects are being carried out by the team of Yunus Environment Hub, Grameen Creative Lab's initiative to address environmental issues through social business creation.