June 30, 2026
After five years of implementation across six South Asian nations, the Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) Project has reached the end of its operational phase. The legacy of the project goes far beyond a final report, but a measurable shift in how the region approaches plastic waste.
As the implementing agency, SACEP brought to the PLEASE Project something no other partner could: decades of trust with Ministries of Environment across all its member states, and the convening authority that comes with them. The project harnessed that standing to move governments from shared intent to coordinated action, supporting the drafting of national policies, facilitating consultative workshops and regional dialogues, and helping member states develop and implement EPR frameworks, single-use plastic bans, and harmonised standards for plastic waste management.
Through nine technical assistance projects and 28 competitive grants spanning six countries, the project worked simultaneously at the policy level and the community level, strengthening the institutions governments need to regulate effectively, and the local capacity communities need to act. The two tracks were designed to reinforce each other: national frameworks give local solutions somewhere to go; community-level innovation gives national policy something to build on.
The results reflect that ambition. Over 15 million kilograms of plastic recovered. Thirty-two Material Recovery Facilities established or strengthened. More than 9,400 informal waste workers were supported, 862 decent jobs created, and 17 women-owned organisations directly funded. Nearly 12 million people are engaged across the region.
None of this was SACEP's work alone. The PLEASE Project was made possible by the financial support of the World Bank and delivered through the commitment of public sector partners; the Ministries of Environment, government agencies, and national institutions across the region whose dedication to addressing plastic pollution made coordinated action possible; grantee organisations who built local solutions from the ground up; technical assistance partners who brought expertise to some of the region's most complex policy and infrastructure challenges; private sector stakeholders who demonstrated that business has a role to play in the circular economy; civil society organisations who kept communities at the centre; academic and research institutions who generated the evidence base the project depended on; and the informal waste workers, women's enterprises, and grassroots groups who did the hardest work of all. To each of them, SACEP extends its sincere gratitude.
No single project resolves a crisis of this scale. But through the PLEASE Project, SACEP demonstrated what regional cooperation looks like when it is grounded in genuine institutional relationships and left behind the policies, infrastructure, and capacity for that work to continue.
Read the full impact publication
This video celebrates the partnerships, achievements, and lasting impact of the PLEASE Project, demonstrating how regional cooperation can build a cleaner, more sustainable future for South Asia.
