The Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT RRC.AP), with the support of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia-Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (ERIA RKC-MPD) and the facilitation of the ASEAN Secretariat, successfully convened the CaRMPAC Regional Dissemination and Synthesis Workshop. The two-day event, held at The Sukosol Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, marked the closing regional event of the Capacity Building Programme for Reducing Recycling-Related Marine Plastic Pollution in ASEAN Cities (CaRMPAC).

The workshop brought together participants, comprising city and provincial government officers, academic partners, and delegates from 12 participating cities across five ASEAN Member States. The participating cities included Iligan, Iloilo, Khon Kaen, Ho Chi Minh City, Denpasar (Bali), Bandung (West Java), Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Bangkok, Hanoi, Nonthaburi, and Medan. Iloilo City participated in the sessions online.

During the opening remarks, Dr. Guilberto Borongan, Director of AIT RRC.AP, highlighted the evolution of the CaRMPAC journey from the initial development of technical guidelines to a comprehensive 12-city rollout over 17 months. He emphasized the need to transition from city-level learning to regional-level insights. Mr. Keitaro Tsuji, Director for Environmental Policy and Director of ERIA RKC-MPD, encouraged participants to openly share their real-world constraints, acknowledging that the most valuable contributions often address the gap between formal regulations and on-the-ground enforcement.

Representatives from each of the twelve participating cities delivered detailed presentations structured around five common themes: local waste baselines, identified leakage hotspots, actions taken, remaining challenges, and specific regional asks. City presentations unpacked common operational realities: high-density urban and coastal cities detailed how low-value single-use packaging and unsegregated waste frequently leak into urban canals and river networks, while cities with prominent informal sectors emphasized sorting bottlenecks, open storage hazards, and limited processing infrastructure. Cities also shared local solutions. Across all presentations, delegates reiterated an urgent need for technical assistance, financial mechanisms for non-recyclable fractions, and standardized data collection protocols.

A core highlight of the workshop was the cross-city synthesis session, which consolidated findings from each of the twelve participating cities to demonstrate shared configurations and challenges common across the region. The evidence base for this presentation was drawn directly from the comprehensive findings of the 12-city workshop rollout, which was delivered over 17 months between March 2025 and August 2026. The presentation highlighted a catalogue of common findings from 12 cities, best practices observed in these cities, and identified enabling factors to help cities improve their waste systems.

Day 2 of the workshop transitioned from plenary discussions to practical observations with field visits to two key facilities. Participants first visited Indorama Polyester Industries, an integrated post-consumer PET recycling plant in Nakhon Pathom. This visit demonstrated a large-scale, closed-loop processing operation, complete with effluent treatment and zero waste to landfill protocols.

Following this, the delegation toured the M.N. Recycling Facility, a local buy-back center in Nonthaburi. This facility illustrated the essential role of mid-tier collection centers in aggregating and sorting recyclable waste from informal networks before the materials reach industrial-scale processors.

The workshop concluded with a strong consensus on the need to sustain the CaRMPAC network. Through these sustained efforts, AIT RRC.AP continues to support ASEAN cities in advancing practical solutions, improving local capacity, and fostering regional collaboration to combat marine plastic pollution.