São Tomé e Príncipe
São Tomé & Príncipe represents a critical island seascape where plastic pollution directly threatens coastal ecosystems, fisheries, and community livelihoods. Through IslandPlas, GBW is supporting the country to strengthen integrated systems for plastic waste prevention, recovery, and circular use, reducing land-based leakage into the ocean while reinforcing community stewardship of the coastal and marine environment.
Implementation is anchored in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Youth and Sustainable Tourism and the Directorate of Environment and Climate Action, working alongside district councils, youth associations, civil society organisations, tourism operators, and informal waste collectors. Community-led actions under the Zero Plastic Waste Campaign and World Cleanup Day mobilised youth and local groups to pilot structured plastic collection, sorting, and safe storage linked to the Central Waste Processing Facility, while initiating engagement with informal waste pickers operating at Penha landfill—recognising them as frontline custodians of the island’s coastal health.
Early impacts reflect GBW’s systems-change approach: over 500 kg of plastic waste diverted from the coastal environment, a national Plastic Waste Profile and Material Flow Analysis completed to guide evidence-based action, and operational capacity secured through the onboarding of GreenAd as implementing partner for material recovery and transformation. As local execution partnerships are finalised and national implementation of the single-use plastic ban advances, São Tomé & Príncipe is transitioning from reactive clean-ups to a GBW-aligned, island-wide circular plastics pathway that protects Atlantic marine ecosystems while strengthening inclusive, ocean-dependent livelihoods.
