The Minderoo Foundation has announced a partnership with Amcor to launch a project to address the global crisis of plastic waste.

The goal of the partnership, called Sea the Future, is to create a global network of plastic recycling plants. The first three hubs will be built in Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Brazil, with construction of the first sorting and recycling plants to begin within two years. The three hubs are expected to unlock an estimated $300 million worth of investment in new plastic recycling plants worldwide, produce 150,000 tons of recycled plastic per year, and prevent the incineration, landfilling, and littering of 200,000 tons of plastic waste. Amcor has agreed to sign offtake agreements, which will secure the commercial future of the recycling centers currently being designed.

The project is backed by the Indonesian government and the port of Rotterdam—the world’s largest seaport outside east Asia. It is designed to close the gap between ambitions for using recycled plastics and the actual supply of high-quality recycled plastics in large volumes.

“This existential threat requires a global solution able to transcend borders, politics and corporate responsibility. Minderoo studies suggest that we have less than five years to make this happen,” said Tony Worby, director of Minderoo Foundation’s Planet portfolio. “Only a broadly adopted, international industry-led approach will keep plastics in the economy and out of the environment. We seek other founding partners from both the consumer goods and petrochemical industries to join this crucial initiative.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Nopadol Uengbunchoo)