Urban Ocean
Urban Ocean is a capacity-building and accelerator program to end ocean plastic pollution and build more resilient communities in cities.
130 million tonnes of plastic pollutes the environment each year, potentially reaching 280 million tonnes per year by 2040 in a business as usual scenario.
While awareness of marine pollution and its associated environmental and public health impacts has increased rapidly over the past few years, there is still a considerable gap in knowledge and capacity to implement effective place-based solutions.
Urban Ocean is a first-of-its-kind initiative that helps cities achieve resilient waste management transformation.
By partnering with municipal leadership and urban changemakers, the program reduces plastic pollution, strengthens urban health, and offers a better livelihood for communities while enabling circular waste systems at scale.
Urban Ocean has developed a proof-of-concept that combines a scientific assessment methodology pioneered by Dr. Jenna Jambeck’s Circularity Informatics Lab with the design, field-testing and scaling of evidence-based solutions.
Areas of Action
Create a network of cities to collaborate on solving ocean plastic and resilience issues by sharing best practices and building capacity.
Peer Network
Collaboration
Use the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) to understand challenges and develop strategies for cities.
Circularity
Assessment Protocol
Create project proposals to form partnerships between cities, businesses, and financing organizations.
Project Strategy
Development
Create a network of cities to collaborate on solving ocean plastic and resilience issues by sharing best practices and building capacity.
Peer Network
Collaboration
Use the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) to understand challenges and develop strategies for cities.
Circularity
Assessment Protocol
Create project proposals to form partnerships between cities, businesses, and financing organizations.
Project Strategy
Development
From Challenge to Innovation
Our 3rd cohort is harnessing local insights to unlock scalable solutions—proving that transformative change starts from the ground up.
Catalyzing Community-Led Circularity and Stewardship in Bangkok
Pioneering Circular Plastics Recovery in Santa Fe
Empowering Waste Pickers and Cooperatives to Increase Recycling in Salvador
Participating Cities
Bangkok
Can Tho
Chennai
Melaka
Mumbai
Panama City
Pune
Salvador
Santa Fe
Santiago
Semarang
Surat
Mentor Cities
Christchurch
Milan
Rotterdam
Toyama
Vejle
Urban Ocean Partners
The program is jointly implemented by Resilient Cities Network, The Circulate Initiative, and the University of Georgia New Materials Institute, with Ocean Conservancy as a founding member.
Other Funding Partners
City Publications
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok is working to reduce plastic leakage and dependence on landfills by improving waste separation, composting, and digital traceability in canal communities. The project empowers local actors to scale community-led recycling and protect the city’s waterways.
Can Tho, Vietnam
Can Tho aims to identify gaps in its solid waste management system that contribute to leakage and leverage opportunities towards enhancing the city’s river waste management and recycling facilities.
Chennai, India
Chennai is advancing decentralized waste management by improving segregation and reducing landfill dependence at the community level. The project enables composting and better recovery of low-value plastics through locally adapted solutions, while driving behavior change among communities.
Melaka, Malaysia
Melaka aims to improve waste management systems to reduce leakage and leverage opportunities towards creating clean rivers and coastal areas and enhancing the city’s recycling infrastructure.
Mumbai, India
Mumbai aims to strengthen recycling and material recovery systems to improve waste segregation and collection by enhancing the operations and upgrading the city’s existing dry waste centers.
Panama City, Panama
Panama City aims to identify gaps in its solid waste management system that contribute to leakage and leverage opportunities towards enhancing the recovery of recyclable material in the city.
Pune, India
Pune aims to advance material recovery systems by formalizing recycling jobs and enterprises, supporting circular economy solutions, and improving waste value chain coordination. supporting the transformation of energy and recovery materials.
Salvador, Brazil
Salvador seeks to enhance recycling capacity and reduce plastic leakage by formalizing the role of informal waste workers and cooperatives. The project focuses on improving waste collection and separation infrastructure by advancing circular and inclusive , cooperative-led solutions.
Santa Fe, Argentina
Santa Fe aims to strengthen its circular economy by developing local plastics reprocessing infrastructure, launching community Sustainability Parks, and expanding Eco Punto refill and drop-off sites. The project focuses on scaling low-tech, community-driven solutions to reduce waste leakage and landfilling.
Santiago, Chile
The Metropolitan Region of Santiago aims to reduce prevalence and impact of illegal dumpsites on critical waterways and wetland ecosystems. The project centered on mapping and ecosystem services, leveraging spectral analysis to identify hotspots and empowering local artisans as stewards of indigenous restorative plant-life.
Semarang, Indonesia
Semarang aims to expand waste services through adaptive, inclusive waste management models and improve system performance while integrating a wider range of local actors.
Surat, India
Surat aims to advance zero waste practices by driving behavior change in waste segregation and reduction, supported by community engagement and local systems that enable more circular waste management.
City Opportunity Booklet
The following opportunities have been identified by city stakeholders, in close collaboration with the Urban Ocean program, as high-impact solutions addressing multi-faceted challenges. These opportunities have been carefully analyzed and prioritized to address ocean plastic waste while supporting equitable, sustainable, and resilient cities.
Urban Ocean Toolkit
Learn more about the rich evidence and resource inventory Urban Ocean has developed with cities through this interactive toolkit. The toolkit was created to help more communities build clean, healthy cities for clean, healthy seas.