What is ASPPIRe?

The ASPPIRe project aims to pilot new models with informal sector waste collectors or waste pickers to support their well-being while also building capacity to keep plastics out of our ocean. These pilots will take place in two geographies – Colombia and Vietnam – and will look at three areas for action:

• Working with local support organizations to provide training, skills development, and other capacity building to waste pickers and waste cooperatives
• Expanding processing capacity of low-value plastics (plastics not currently being collected)
• Stabilizing end-markets for low-value plastics

Trash Free Seas Alliance is taking action with a new signature initiative: ASPPIRe in partnership with iWrc, CECR in Vietnam and CEMPRE in Colombia.

In many areas worldwide, local governments lack the resources to properly collect and manage all the waste that is generated.
Mismanaged plastic and other types of pollution leak into sewers and waterways into the ocean.
Informal waste collectors prioritize their collection efforts on high-value materials, leaving lower value materials uncollected.

These low-value materials most frequently end up in pathways leading right to the ocean.
Waste pickers provide a vital service to their communities and the planet. Yet, they work in unsafe conditions for inadequate compensation.
ASPPIRe intends to enable informal waste sector workers to collect low-value plastic to reduce the amount of waste leakage to the ocean. The program aims to create increased income and safety for waste pickers.

CECR in Vietnam and CEMPRE in Colombia are women-led organizations
working with informal sector waste collectors in their respective countries.
Women comprise a significant proportion of informal waste collectors.
Women are also often involved in sorting at the aggregation level.
However, they are rarely the owners or managers of businesses in the waste collection value chain.
While we will work with both men and women, ASPPIRe seeks to ensure women benefit on every level from this initiative.

Commitment to Healthy Ocean Habitats

Marine debris is a serious problem.

It is estimated that 11 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year.

We need to continue to implement new solutions to reduce the flow of plastics into the ocean and remove the waste that currently exists.

The ASPPIRe project implements new avenues for removing and reintroducing plastics back into the global value chain.

By incentivizing waste collectors and providing the necessary tools and equipment, low-value plastics will be removed from oceans and waterways

Launched in 2012, TFSA is focused on creating a healthy ocean free from trash.
The TFSA develops innovative and pragmatic solutions that rid our ocean of marine debris and plastics.
The goal? Eliminate the flow of plastic into the oceans by 2030