The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has announced a four-city pilot of a project to make plastic waste management more “circular” and reduce plastic pollution of the marine environment. ESCAP's ‘Closing the Loop’ project is supported by the Government of Japan. It will help to build the capacity of ASEAN cities to plan for and manage their plastic waste using circular economy principles. The pilot cities are: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Surabaya, Indonesia; Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand and Da Nang, Viet Nam.