Handbook for Developing National Plastics Data Systems

The Handbook for Developing National Plastics Data Systems gives government officials and practitioners a structured, practical approach to building national plastics data systems. Developed jointly by the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform (CSDR), the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) and GRID-Arendal,  it sets out seven steps, from identifying relevant data through to establishing systems for ongoing data management.

Why does the data gap matter?

Plastic moves through economies and environments in ways that are difficult to see and harder to regulate. Without data across the lifecycle of plastics, from production to pollution, governments and decision-makers are ‘flying blind’. Data on plastics is necessary to design targeted regulations, allocate resources, evaluate whether interventions work, or track progress against national and international commitments.

Effectively managing plastics depends on systematic data collection. Without it, governments are designing policy without evidence of how plastics is flowing through their economies and environments.

Many countries currently lack a coordinated data collection framework, standardised methodologies, clear institutional arrangements, or the technical capacity to manage plastics data over time. The Handbook was created to close that gap.

What does the Handbook cover?

The Handbook provides six key steps to developing national data systems for plastics:

1. Data Identification and Stakeholder Mapping
2. Data Quality Assessment
3. Initial Inventory Compilation
4. Gap Analysis and Priority Setting
5. Stakeholder Engagement to Close Priority Gaps
6. Inventory Improvement, Verification and Consolidation
7. Institutionalisation and System Sustainability

Recognising that comprehensive data development requires time and capacity building, the Handbook supports users’ journeys regardless of their starting point or immediate capacity, supporting from improving a single data category, all the way to developing Plastics Accounts. The Handbook is based on GOAP’s experience supporting countries to develop national data systems for marine and coastal environments (Ocean Accounts) since 2019.

While primarily designed for policymakers and government officials responsible for environmental management, waste systems, and statistical development, the Handbook is accessible and relevant to a broad range of stakeholders who will find practical methodologies applicable to their work.