Plastic pollution remains a persistent challenge in the Baltic Sea Region. It is largely driven by everyday single-use plastics originating on land, combined with uneven policy implementation at the local level. Although municipalities play a central role in public services, procurement, events and waste management, they often lack practical tools to translate circular economy ambitions into concrete actions. 

The BALTIPLAST project was launched in 2023 to address this gap. By bringing together municipalities, researchers, NGOs and environmental specialists from across the Baltic Sea Region, the project was set out to turn plastic reduction from abstract goals into concrete, locally applicable practices. The project was built on a clear premise: meaningful plastic prevention requires coordinated action across municipal strategies, daily organisational behaviour and waste management systems. 

BALTIPLAST developed and tested an integrated package of strategic, behavioural and technical solutions. Working closely with eight municipalities, the project co-created strategic frameworks focused on prevention, reuse and improved recycling. To tackle plastic consumption at source, BALTIPLAST also developed soft solutions, most notably the Plastic Inventory Tool. This tool enabled municipalities, schools, businesses and households to measure their plastic use, identify hotspots and implement targeted reduction measures based on real data rather than assumptions. 

In parallel, technical pilots in three countries demonstrated how improved collection and sorting systems can increase recycling quality and support circular end-uses. Municipal staff, companies and local stakeholders were trained to apply these solutions, ensuring that knowledge remains embedded beyond the project lifetime. 

The project’s impacts were validated through an environmental assessment. The results showed that prevention-oriented measures and reuse systems can significantly reduce plastic consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The tested solutions proved feasible and showed strong potential for transfer and replication across the Baltic Sea Region. 

By the end of the project, BALTIPLAST delivered a coherent and transferable set of validated solutions, supported by a digital platform and an educational kit for local authorities and other stakeholders. The project demonstrates that municipalities can play a decisive role in preventing plastic pollution when equipped with practical tools, measurable data and coordinated governance frameworks. 

BALTIPLAST turns plastic reduction from ambition into implementation and provides a clear pathway for municipalities across the region to follow.