In the recent years, there has been a significant increase in attention towards plastic pollution, both from national governments and the global community 

The « National Guidance for Plastic Pollution Hotspotting and Shaping Action » aims to provide a structured approach to identify « hotspots » of plastic leakage, assess their impacts throughout the entire plastic value chain, and prioritize appropriate actions once these hotspots are identified. The guidance is designed to empower countries, regions, or cities to adopt and implement this framework within their own specific contexts.

Currently, numerous organizations and initiatives are working on developing methodologies and approaches to assess the flow and leakage of plastics. Their objective is to tackle the complexities of the plastic value chain and understand the unquantified environmental impacts, particularly on marine ecosystems. There is a clear need for a better understanding of the origins and magnitudes of major plastic leakages, as well as more accurate knowledge on which actions will have the greatest impact. The National Guidance seeks to address this pressing need.

By harmonizing the quantification of plastic leakage and impact, the guidance will assist countries, regions, and cities in establishing baselines for benchmarking and tracking the progress of their interventions. The guidance emphasizes the importance of comprehensive, consistent, comparable, and credible assessment and tracking, achieved through a methodology that harmonizes existing data, tools, and resources. It adopts a holistic approach, covering various types of plastic polymers and products, and examines their leakage and impacts across the entire value chain.

The guidance is action-oriented and supports users with a reproducible workflow, providing tools and templates for data collection, analysis, diagnosis, planning, and implementation. It enables stakeholders to effectively address plastic pollution by providing them with a structured and practical framework to guide their efforts.