The spread of plastic around the world has reached an extreme level that all countries should be concerned about. The world produces about 359 million tons of plastic every year, and the plastic market value is expected to reach $1 trillion in 2035. About 49.3% of the world's plastic comes from the Asia-Pacific region, and about 8 million tons of plastic enters the ocean.

Of all plastics produced, only 9 percent is recycled, 12 percent is incinerated, and 79 percent ends up in landfills or in the natural environment, posing a huge threat to Marine life and the health of people. Plastic pollution in the ocean also has a significant economic cost, with direct losses to the blue economy in the ASEAN region estimated at US $2.1 billion per year, directly affecting industries such as shipping, fishing, aquaculture and Marine tourism. At the same time, the paper predicts that plastic production will triple between 2020 and 2050, significantly increasing the economic and social costs.

In this context, the paper proposes solutions to control plastic pollution from several perspectives:

One is to accelerate the use of plastic substitutes, replace plastic products with non-plastic, recyclable or biodegradable materials, accelerate the design of plastic substitutes, and countries should also adopt recycling and sustainable economic principles throughout the plastic value chain to achieve plastic product substitution.

The second is to promote the pricing of plastic, which is produced from heavily subsidized oil and has low production costs, so there is less economic incentive to use plastic substitutes. The paper suggests that negative externalities of plastic should be reflected in the price of plastic to encourage the use of alternative materials.

Third, accelerate technological innovation and assist the government in monitoring urban plastic waste.

The fourth is to create plastic-free public places, and to reduce the use and production of plastic products through measures such as charging extra fees for plastic products.

Fifth, strengthen producer responsibility by making it the responsibility of producers to collect and recycle their plastic products.

Sixth, accelerate municipal and community actions to clean up plastic waste on beaches and rivers, educate the public about the dangers of plastic pollution, and impose bans or taxes on single-use plastic products.

Seventh, strengthen multi-stakeholder cooperation, unite national, local governments, industrial manufacturers, ngos and voluntary organizations, and take coordinated actions to provide resources and financial support for pollution control.