PUA Year 2 Quarterly Report 3: April 2021 – June 2021

The program aims to reduce plastic use, increase plastic recycling, and improve plastics management in the country. PUA is funded through a $900,000 investment from USAID, with an additional $1.35 million leveraged from private-sector investment. The program's technical approach is built on multi-tiered stakeholder participation in the plastics recycling industry. Plastic by-products are collected from businesses and industry actors, waste contractors collect and sell plastic waste from community recycling bins, and waste pickers collect plastic waste directly from households and the community. The collected plastic waste is then sold to aggregators and micro-processors, who aggregate, clean, sort, and/or shred plastics, creating a value-added product for sale to upcyclers and asphalt producers. Key achievements in Quarter 3, Year 2 include strengthening integrated plastic waste collection in Dili despite the lockdown. Mercy Corps has been piloting a private sector-driven plastic waste collection system, which has maintained operations and completed weekly end-to-end plastic waste collection rounds. The program has also expanded engagement with road construction actors, with Mercy Corps increasing its coordination and advocacy efforts with targeted government stakeholders involved in public works and infrastructure. Additionally, Mercy Corps has analyzed global best practices in the development of recycling supply chains and recycled product lines, with a focus on applicability to the local context. The program has also sourced specialized market and economic analysis consulting services to support the development of upcycled/recycled plastic supply chains and products. Timor-Leste faces the urgent challenge of addressing excessive amounts of plastic waste, which is burned in rubbish piles, clogs critical drainage infrastructure, and is washed up on the country's once pristine beaches. This creates risks to human health and safety and jeopardizes the growth potential of its nascent but promising tourism industry. PUA aims to assist Timor-Leste to achieve 'plastic neutral' status, whereby unnecessary plastic use is curtailed and replaced, and up to 20% of Dili's plastic waste is collected and recycled into locally sought-after products within three years. The program's goal is to create and expand valuable employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, with the potential to improve the natural beauty of Timor-Leste and protect the health and safety of its people. PUA's technical approach is built on the premise of multi-tiered stakeholder participation in the plastics recycling industry, with plastic by-products collected from businesses and industry actors, waste contractors collecting and selling plastic waste, and waste pickers collecting plastic waste directly from households and the community. The program has made significant progress in Quarter 3, Year 2, including strengthening integrated plastic waste collection in Dili, expanding engagement with road construction actors, and analyzing global best practices in the development of recycling supply chains and recycled product lines. The program's technical approach is built on the premise of multi-tiered stakeholder participation in the plastics recycling industry, with plastic by-products collected from businesses and industry actors, waste contractors collecting and selling plastic waste, and waste pickers collecting plastic waste directly from households and the community. PUA's goal is to assist Timor-Leste to achieve 'plastic neutral' status, whereby unnecessary plastic use is curtailed and replaced, and up to 20% of Dili's plastic waste is collected and recycled into locally sought-after products within three years. The program's technical approach is built on the premise of multi-tiered stakeholder participation in the plastics recycling industry, with plastic by-products collected from businesses and industry actors, waste contractors collecting and selling plastic waste, and waste pickers collecting plastic waste directly from households and the community.