Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance

The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance (APPA) is a volunteer-run collaborative forum of researchers, educators, artists, activists, and community leaders working to end plastic pollution through holistic systemic transformation.

Our kaupapa is to prevent plastic pollution in Aotearoa and the wider world as we believe it is our collective responsibility to work towards restoring the mauri of Papatūānuku (Land/Earth), Ranginui (Sky/Air), Wai (Freshwater), Tangaroa (Ocean) and all other living beings.

Our members facilitate and participate in a range of interdisciplinary academic research, citizen science, activism and advocacy, art displays, and public events in our work against plastic pollution. As a not-for-profit organisation, we depend on our community’s unwavering vision of a plastic pollution-free world.

As an independent organisation with a diverse membership, our kaupapa is grounded within the values of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We aim to use our privilege and positionality to promote Mātauranga Māori, Pasifika science, and other Indigenous knowledge systems into local, national, regional, and global responses to plastic pollution and other interconnected issues, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

We include and work alongside Tāngata Whenua, communities, policymakers, and industry to advocate for holistic and effective systemic responses to prevent plastic pollution at the source, while working towards best management and recovery.