Canada’s Nova Chemicals in spending nearly $2 million on a three-year program to prevent plastic waste from reaching the world’s oceans. The move is in support of Project STOP, a global initiative that was created last year by Nova’s sister company Borealis and Systemiq, a group established in 2016 to implement the Paris Agreement and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Project STOP has chosen to focus on Indonesia, which Nova said accounts for an estimated 1.29 million t/y of plastic waste entering the world’s oceans, second to China, which is responsible for about 3.53 million t/y.

Nova’s investment will back a first city partnership in Muncar, a coastal fishing community in Banyuwangi, on the eastern tip of Java, where many people dump their waste directly into the local environment, including the sea, because of a lack of available waste services.

“We understand the growing concern about marine plastic pollution and agree we must take meaningful action to address this challenge. Plastics are too valuable to be thrown away or left as litter. We’re working with Project STOP to find high-impact solutions to prevent plastic pollution in critical locations around the world,” said John Thayer, senior vice president of Nova’s polyethylene business.

Project STOP is focused on three key objectives: zero leakage of waste into the environment; increased recycling of plastics; and benefits for the local community by creating new jobs in waste management and reducing the damage to public health, tourism and fisheries.

Southeast Asia is a major source of marine plastic debris as economic development and plastics consumption have outpaced the region’s expansion of waste management systems. Systemiq’s founder and managing partner Martin Stuchtey said: “There is a great need to accelerate circular waste management solutions in Asia and we are very excited to design and deliver this new city partnership model, working collaboratively with our global corporate partners and our government partners in Indonesia.”