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The CAP Data Platform contains detailed charts and maps that require a larger screen to view properly. Please visit on a desktop or laptop for the best experience.

Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) findings from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies

Read the full synthesis report: findings and policy opportunities across seven APEC economies. Download PDF ↓

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Filter by Region

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Key Terms

CAPCircularity Assessment Protocol — a standardized methodology developed by the Circularity Informatics Lab at UGA to collect community-level, empirical data on circularity of consumer plastics.

FMCGFast-Moving Consumer Good — a product that is sold quickly and at a relatively low cost, such as beverages, chips, and candy.

SUPSingle-Use Plastic — plastic items intended to be used once before being discarded or recycled.

EPRExtended Producer Responsibility — a policy approach that makes producers responsible for the end-of-life management of their products and packaging.

Input ▼

What products are sold in the community and where do they originate?

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Parent company locations of fast-moving consumer goods brands

Based on surveys of FMCG brands packaged in single-use plastic, this chart shows the top 10 economies where parent companies and distributors of those FMCG brands are headquartered. Each bar shows the total number of brand observations recorded in stores, grouped by the country where the parent company is headquartered. Hover over any bar to see the top parent companies or distributors from that country.

Methods

Surveys of brands of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in three categories — beverages, candy, and chips — were taken in grocery and convenience stores in each community. In each store, brands of FMCG packaged in single-use plastic were recorded, along with the parent company or disributor and headquarter location if available on product packaging. For other brands, parent companies were determined using desktop research. Parent company or distributor country is based on the approximate headquarters location of the parent company. Data note: For most CAPs, unique brands were recorded in each store. In some communities, unique brands were recorded as a cumulative list across all stores in the community. For newer CAPs, local partners record 20 unique brands in each product cateogry in each store, ensuring common brands and local brands are documented.

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Product Design ▼

What materials and formats are found in products, particularly packaging and to-go food-ware?

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Packaging composition by product type

Based on visual surveys of packaging type for a set of FMCG and staple products in stores, each bar shows the average material composition for a product category, normalized to 100%. Use the toggle to switch between fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and staple products. Hover over any segment to see the material name and percentage. Estimates of overall packaging type by product category are a more recent addition to CAP, and therefore data may be more limited than for other charts in this dashboard. The n value at the end of each bar shows how many cities have data for that product — hover to see the city list.

Methods

In each grocery store surveyed, the team conducted visual surveys of packaging type for three FMCG products (beverages, candy, and chips) and a set of household and staple products (shampoo, rice, oil, and laundry detergent). Percentages of each material type were visually estimated for each product in stores where they were present. Results shown are averaged first within each city, then across cities, to give equal weight to each community regardless of the number of stores surveyed.

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Material composition of to-go foodware

Based on surveys of common to-go foodware items at food vendors, each pie shows the breakdown of materials for a specific product type: straws, cold cups, utensils, and food packaging. Hover over any slice to see the material name, observation count, and percentage.

Methods

Restaurants and other food vendors, like cafes and street food stalls, were surveyed through visual assessments after purchasing goods or through discussions with restaurant owners. The team assessed the material type for common to-go food items including food containers or packaging, cold cups, utensils, and straws. Results shown are counts of observations across all active food vendors in the current selection.

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Use ▼

What are the community trends around use and reuse of product types?

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Alternatives to single-use plastic

Based on surveys of common alternatives to single-use plastics in the household and personal care product categories, each bar shows the number of stores carrying an alternative for a given product type, broken down by the type of alternative. Bars are sorted by total availability. The note above shows how many stores in the current selection carry any alternative versus the total stores surveyed in the current selection.

Methods

To understand availability of alternatives to single-use plastic, household and personal care items were surveyed in stores. Most often, alternative surveys were focused on larger grocery stores rather than convenience stores, although older CAPs may include observations of alternatives from convenience stores in the dataset. Alternatives to plastic packaging in the household and personal care aisles were noted, along with the use type. Use types include: alternative material, compostable or biodegradable, reusable, refillable, concentrated, bulk, or bring-your-own-packaging. Alternative material refers to items made of something other than single-use plastic, such as wood utensils or aluminum cups, without a specific compostable or biodegradable label. Reusable refers to items where the entire product is intended for reuse, such as silicone bags or metal utensils. Refillable refers to products intentionally designed to be refilled, such as a glass spray bottle with a refill option. Concentrated and bulk options were recorded where products were sold in reduced-packaging formats. In the updated CAP methods, local partners specifically survey 10 common alternative products for availability and material type in grocery stores. These include: straws, utensils, large dinner plates, cold beverage cups, sandwich bags, all-purpose household cleaner, laundry detergent, dish soap, hand soap, and shampoo.

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Single-use and reusable grocery bags

Based on surveys of single-use bag material compostition and the availability of reusable bags, this chart shows material composition for both primary and reusbale grocery bags. The left donut shows the breakdown of primary bag materials across all surveyed stores. The right donut shows the material breakdown of reusable bags among stores that offer them, with the center showing what percentage of stores offer a reusable option. Hover over any slice to see material, store count, and community count.

Methods

During store surveys, local partners recorded the primary bag material offered to customers for single-use bags, whether a reusable bag option was available, and if so, the material of the reusable bag and its cost. Each instance represents one store's bag offering across the current selection. Results exclude stores where no bag data was recorded and stores reporting no bags available, as this category was not consistently recorded across all historical communities. In updated CAP methods, local partners also specifically document if no single-use bags are available at each store.

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Leakage ▼

What waste ends up in the environment? How and why is it getting there?

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Average litter density distribution

Based on randomized litter transects surveyed across CAP communities in the current selection, each bar shows the number of sites falling within a density range (items per square meter). The distribution is typically right-skewed — most sites have low litter density, with a smaller number of high-density hotspots. The teal dashed line shows the median density; the pink dashed line shows the mean. Hover over any bar to see the density range and site count.

Methods

Litter density was assessed using a stratified random sampling method. Survey areas were divided into three groups based on ambient population count (upper, middle, lower tertiles). Within each group, 1km² areas were randomly selected using NOAA's Sampling Design Tool, and three randomly selected 100m² transects were surveyed within each area. Litter items were recorded using the open-data Marine Debris Tracker app. Average litter density (items/m²) is calculated per site as an average across all transects within that site. Data note: A small number of CAPs, like the CAP in Dominica, may not align with the above methodlogy. Sites in Dominica could not be mapped to LandScan areas due to geographical constraints.

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Litter characterization

The composition of litter by material category. The inner ring shows broad material groups; the outer ring shows the specific material categories recorded in the field. Segment size reflects total quantity recorded. Hover over any segment to see the category name, item count, and percentage of total litter.

Methods

Litter categories follow the CAP Debris Tracker classification system. Broad groupings were developed to aggregate specific material types into seven material types: Plastic, Paper & Wood, Metal, Glass, Cloth, Organic, and Other. Quantities shown are summed across all transects and seasons for communities in the current filter selection.

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Top 20 litter items

The most frequently recorded litter items across all surveyed transects, colored by material category. Hover over any dot to see the item name, material category, total count, and percentage of all litter recorded.

Methods

Individual litter items were recorded by type and category during transect surveys using the Debris Tracker app. Total quantities shown are summed across all transects and seasons for communities in the current filter selection.

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