In Taizhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, 74-year-old fisherman Chen Xiafang is picking up plastic bottles that have been washed up on the beach. Unlike the usual beach-cleaning volunteers, he wears a Global Positioning System camera on his chest to record the process and location of the pickup area. 

These plastic bottles start their journey of recycling and rebirth when Chen sends the discarded bottles to the Little Blue House which is a marine garbage treatment site responsible for recycling and sorting marine plastic waste. 

Through the integration of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things and blockchain, recycled plastic bottles re-enter our daily lives in the form of new high-value, ecologically and environmentally friendly products with QR codes that can trace the entire life cycle of marine plastics through sorting, storage, transportation, and reproduction.

"Every day, I spend my spare time picking up plastic waste on the coastline and sending it to Little Blue House, which gives me a monthly payment of around 700 yuan," said Chen.

The marine waste management program was launched by the Blue Circle project developed by the Department of Ecology and Environment of Zhejiang Province and Zhejiang Lanjing Technology Co., Ltd in 2019, aiming to remove and manage plastic pollution along parts of the province's 6,600-kilometer-coastline, and provide financial benefits to local communities, with 0.2 yuan (about $0.03) per plastic bottle collected. That's about seven times the market price.

On Monday, the Blue Circle won the 2023 Champions of the Earth Award, the UN's most prestigious environmental recognition, for its innovative efforts on marine pollution reduction. 

Overcoming the difficulties of lacking participants, funding and sustainability in conventional marine waste management, Blue Circle has provided a sustainable solution to pollution treatment and effectively reduced coastal pollution in the province.

"As an award winner, Blue Circle sets an inspiring example for governments, businesses and communities around the world who want to take action to reduce plastic pollution," said Tu Ruihe, head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) China Office.

To date, it has successfully enlisted the help of 10,240 boats and 6,300 fishers and local residents to recycle nearly 2,500 tonnes of plastic, making it China's largest marine plastic waste program. As Blue Circle is being introduced to other parts of China, more than 200,000 ships, tens of thousands of coastal residents and enterprises are expected to benefit from participating in marine debris recycling activities.

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