Plastic Leakage Identification and Monitoring for National Action Plan Approach in Myanmar

Abstract

The growing problem of plastic waste has become a call to ASEAN member states to develop and implement national action plans. In this study, a mechanism for applying national action plans to address plastic waste was applied to plastic leakage monitoring. Focusing on Myanmar’s action plans, we developed a comprehensive methodology that focuses on maximizing monitoring to fill gaps in national action plan implementation. This study implemented waste management assessment using the Waste Flow Diagram (WFD) tool, which established the initial framework for monitoring plastic waste status in cities. This assessment was also supported by field surveys using a mobile application (app) for getting an overview of microplastics and consulting stakeholders. We processed the results through Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis to calculate the amount of plastic leaking into the open environment. From our first assessment, we found more than 5,000 tons of plastic waste had possibly leaked from 33 townships in Yangon and, judging from an accumulation survey, that most of the municipal solid waste handled in this city was subjected to open dumping practices. The challenges addressed here emphasize cultivation of different sectors of waste management stakeholders and engagement with informal sectors.