Since April 2021, the EU funded “Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Neighbourhood South Region” project has been providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Environment (MoENV) of Jordan to support the implementation of the national Green and Circular Economy agenda and particularly to combat the widespread use of Single-Use Plastics (SUPs).

More specifically, two interlinked parallel national activities have been running and their key outcomes are a draft Roadmap to address SUP items in the country, as well as draft Recommendations for stakeholders on green banking and green investment opportunities to curb plastic waste in Jordan with emphasis on SUPs.

Together with the MoENV, WES held a very successful consultation workshop on the 17^th of May 2023 in Amman, to present the two draft documents and discuss them with key stakeholders. In terms of the Roadmap, the current state in Jordan, including practices (based on meetings with 14 stakeholders) is described; the environmental effects of SUPs vs. alternatives; an overview of potential alternatives to selected SUPs; potential measures and a timeframe. The Recommendations for stakeholders on green banking and green investment opportunities revolve around three components of reform, namely: institutional, communication and education, and capacity building needs.

The more than 40 stakeholders from ministries, the EU Delegation, international bodies and donor agencies, local authorities, plastics industry, recyclers, banks, NGOs, research institutes and others, engaged in animated discussions and positively assessed the collective efforts and work achieved.

In the words of Prof. Michael Scoullos, WES Team Leader: “The WES studies and work in Jordan show that the situation and conditions for recycling of plastic, particularly as it concerns PET water bottles, presents a formidable opportunity for a win-win-win approach: for the environment, the economy and the society (job creation)”.

These WES ‘twin’ national activities in Jordan were implemented with the support and services of its consortium members: MedWaves UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for SCP; Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+); GOPA Infra; Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE) and LDK Consultants Global EEIG.