STOPPING OCEAN PLASTIC STARTS WITH US.

Oceans make up 99% of all the habitable space for life on Earth. We depend on them for food, medicine, energy, and raw materials for our daily lives.

Increasingly, however, oceans’ marine biodiversity, their rich ecosystems, and the livelihoods of coastal communities are all under threat.

Plastic is destroying marine life and polluting the oceans at an unprecedented rate.  Plastic waste does not know borders, traveling across seas, rivers, and deltas to affect all societies and economies. It is also a key driver of climate change: emissions from plastic will reach 17% of the global carbon budget within the next three decades.

Without action, we risk having more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.

What is EPPIC?

Spearheaded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) is a brand-new ASEAN-wide competition calling for all innovators to share their bright ideas for tackling plastic pollution with the world.

Innovative ways to fight ocean plastic are already being developed, but they often lack the support or visibility they need to grow. EPPIC provides an exciting opportunity for innovators to receive seed funding and incubation training to help them maximise their chances of success.

Showcase

EPPIC Prizes

Challenge winners can look forward to:

Top 10-15 Finalists

  • 3-month incubation training

Top 4 EPPIC Winners

  • 9-month impact acceleration programme
  • Up to USD$18,000 in equity-free seed funding each
  • Opportunities to network with impact investing firms and other key development players in the ASEAN region

Take the Challenge

Timeline

January 2021

EPPIC Phase I Final Pitching Competition

January – September 2021

Impact acceleration for 4 winners of EPPIC Phase I

16 March 2021

Launch of EPPIC Phase II in Indonesia and the Philippines

10 May 2021

EPPIC Phase II: Applications close

07 June 2021

Announcement of 15 finalists of EPPIC Phase II

September 2021

EPPIC Phase II Final Pitching Competition

The Challenges

Spearheaded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)

Plastics Innovation Programme

  • Year: 2025 Location: Ha Noi
  • Award-winning invention: View more

The Plastics Innovation Programme is officially accepting applications from all organizations, agencies and businesses across Viet Nam! Aiming to experiment and promote initiatives that reduce plastic waste generation, encourage the production of sustainable alternatives, and improve circular economic practices, UNDP Viet Nam announces a Call for Proposals to award small…

EPPIC 2023

  • Year: 2023 Location: Hà Nội
  • Award-winning invention: 5 View more

EPPIC Top 7 Finalists 2023 - Lao PDR The Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) is an ASEAN-wide competition aiming to beat plastic pollution in coastal cities in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Lao DPR, and Cambodia by selecting innovative solutions and helping them to grow and scale up. Over…

EPPIC 2020 – 2021

  • Year: 2020 - 2021 Location: Đà Nẵng
  • Award-winning invention: 4 View more

Funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam, the Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) is a three-year project aiming to contribute to the reduction of plastic pollution in the coastal areas of Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia,…

EPPIC SHOP

  • Year: 2024 Location: Huế
  • Award-winning invention: 7 View more

In 2020, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC). The competition had received 159 teams coming from six ASEAN countries (Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia) applied to the challenge with a broad range of solutions to tackle plastic pollution…

Document

Spearheaded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)

News

New ASEAN-wide Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) launched

New ASEAN-wide Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) launched June 24, 2020   Photo: Lekima Hung Ha Noi, 24 June…

  • Time: 16/01/2025 Location: Hà Nội
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Launching workshop for: Scaling-Up a Socialised Model of Waste Management and Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge

Launching workshop for: Scaling-Up a Socialised Model of Waste Management and Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge Opening Remarks by Ms.…

  • Time: 16/01/2025 Location: Đà Nẵng
  • View more