Costa Rica presents roadmap for plastic circularity and waste management
Costa Rica's targets include decreasing plastic pollution by 91% on land and in water, and achieving 54% plastic circularity by 2040. The roadmap employs a data-driven methodology to assess plastic pollution, explore solutions, and chart the path forward.
According to the National Plastic Action Roadmap, “plastic pollution is a cross-cutting issue that particularly affects vulnerable populations, including rural communities, Indigenous groups, people of African descent, and women.”
Costa Rica is also part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP)—a multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to tackling plastic pollution and waste reduction commitments, and the world’s largest initiative addressing plastic pollution.
If successfully implemented, Costa Rica’s roadmap could lead to a 76% reduction in open-air plastic burning, 39% less plastic waste sent to landfills, 26% savings in government plastic waste management costs, and 24% less greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), according to the GPAP.
Despite its relatively small size, Costa Rica hosts 6% of the planet’s biodiversity, which is threatened by plastic pollution.
To tackle this challenge, Costa Rica launched its National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) last year and is advancing efforts through a national roadmap that puts a “multi-stakeholder approach in action.” At the core of NPAP is a Steering Committee comprising government, private sector, academia, and civil society, which provides strategic direction for the roadmap and ensures inclusivity.
Tackling Mismanaged Plastic and Legislative Actions
In 2022, Costa Rica generated an estimated 232,000 tons of plastic waste—about 46 kg per person. Approximately 20% of this waste was mismanaged, ending up in rivers, oceans, soils, or being openly burned.
The country has implemented various legislative and regulatory measures including:
- A ban on single-use plastics in areas managed by the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC)
- Law 9786, declaring the reduction of single-use plastic pollution a matter of public interest
- The National Plan for the Sustainable Management of Single-Use Plastics, aiming for 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastics by 2030
- Law 8839 on Integrated Solid Waste Management
The GPAP highlights that NPAP Costa Rica places strong emphasis on collaboration, promoting innovation, strengthening cross-sector partnerships, and encouraging sustainable behavior change.
The private sector is also actively contributing; for example, companies like Ficus Box have introduced reusable packaging as alternatives to single-use plastics.
Contextual Note on Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
While the National Plastic Action Roadmap does not explicitly mention polyethylene terephthalate (PET), it is widely recognized globally as a key plastic in beverage bottles and food packaging due to its recyclability and potential for circularity.
Given Costa Rica's commitments to plastic circularity and waste reduction, it is reasonable to infer that the roadmap encourages the strengthening of PET collection and recycling systems. Specifically, bottle-to-bottle recycling of food-grade recycled PET (rPET) aligns with international best practices to reduce landfill pressure and greenhouse gas emissions.
Efforts to expand the use of rPET, subject to safety and performance standards, would support Costa Rica’s broader environmental goals and contribute to a sustainable plastic economy.
Global Context
Other nations are also taking decisive actions to combat single-use plastic pollution, including Pakistan, the Philippines, the Netherlands, and the United States.
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