Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Plastic waste and recycling claims · Philippines · 2022–2025

Verra plastic credits

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 not measured · 4 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Does plastic sent to incineration and cement kilns count as plastic waste reduction?
  • Standard-setters and registries Verra: Treats incineration with energy recovery and co-processing in cement kilns as acceptable end-of-life treatment. Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
  • Communities and civil society Break Free From Plastic and GAIA: 22% of Verra projects and 86% of PCX projects send plastic to burning or kilns. Break Free From Plastic / GAIA
  • Press and investigations SourceMaterial: More than 80% of plastic collected by PCX goes to cement kilns; only 14% of PCX credits come from recycling. SourceMaterial
  • Communities and civil society Neil Tangri, GAIA: “We need to stop producing so much plastic.”

A report for Fauna & Flora found that 228 of the 10,146 plastic credits issued under Verra’s Plastic Waste Reduction Standard (2.2%) had been retired by July 2024. Verra accepts incineration with energy recovery and cement-kiln co-processing as end-of-life treatment.

228 of 10,146 (2.2%)Verra plastic credits retired, share of credits issued (registry data to 23 July 2024)
Figure as stated in the Eunomia report for Fauna & Flora; the report’s own Table 4 gives 213 sold.

Status As of October 2026 (report dated 15 October 2026): no ruling in the sources; Verra’s own claims and independent counts of its plastic programme still differ.

What?
Verra’s Plastic Waste Reduction Standard issued 10,146 plastic credits by July 2024, of which 228 (2.2%) had been retired, and accepts incineration with energy recovery and cement-kiln co-processing as end-of-life treatment. Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
Where?
Global registry; documented projects and buyers in the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Brazil. Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
When?
Registry data to 23 July 2024; issuances from March 2022; ADB data as of 29 July 2025. Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
Who?
Gained
  • Second Life Thailand — All 192 credits retired by April 2024 came from this project; at the reported $500 price that implies about $96,000. Eunomia
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
To fund collection and recycling of plastic through credits that companies can buy. Verra
How?
One credit equals one tonne of plastic collected or recycled; credits are issued by Verra after projects are registered. Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Verra’s Plastic Waste Reduction Standard (PWRS) had 13 registered projects in 11 countries by 23 July 2024, which together had collected or recycled 98,876 tonnes of plastic; 8 of them had been issued credits. A report by Eunomia for Fauna & Flora, labelled an interim report and dated November 2024, found 10,146 credits issued (one credit equal to one tonne), of which 76% were waste collection credits and 24% (2,463) waste recycling credits. By material, 41% were “other plastics”, 32% composite and 24% polypropylene; all composite credits and 93% of “other plastics” credits were collection credits. The report said that only 228 of the 10,146 credits had been retired (sold), 2.2%, while its Table 4 gave 213.

Demand was low in the report’s figures: of 993 credits issued in 2022–2023, 187 (19%) had sold by October 2024, and adding issuances from January to March 2024, 237 of 5,474 (4%) had sold. One project issued 734 credits in March 2022 and had sold 183 (25%) by October 2024. An earlier Eunomia white paper of 22 April 2024 recorded 7,061 credits issued and 192 (2.7%) retired, all by Second Life Thailand, to five named buyers: Vinventions, Bentley Motors, Escape Travel, GP-23 and PCX. A price of $500 a credit was reported by the project founder, which implies about $96,000 in revenue. Verra publishes no prices.

Verra treats incineration with energy recovery and co-processing in cement kilns as acceptable end-of-life treatment. SourceMaterial reported in November 2023 that more than 80% of the plastic collected by the Philippines-based Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX) goes to cement kilns and that only 14% of PCX credits come from recycling. Break Free From Plastic and GAIA reported on 29 November 2023 that 22% of Verra projects and 86% of PCX projects send plastic to burning or kilns. SourceMaterial reported that Nestlé Philippines spent $732,900, all on burning credits; Nestlé, which co-developed the Verra standard, now says it does not buy plastic credits.

Counts of projects differ by source and date. Eunomia’s April 2024 white paper recorded 64 projects in 25 countries that had applied to Verra, 58 listed and 8 registered. Verra’s own undated page claims 36 registered projects in 20 countries and more than 500,000 credits “approved”, which is not the same as issued. An Asian Development Bank fact sheet recorded 60 or more listed and 32 registered projects as of 29 July 2025. The research record counts about 243 projects listed across registries, most not yet issuing credits, and cites a BloombergNEF projection that plastic credits could reach $4.3 billion a year in revenue by 2050.

  1. 2022March: a project is issued 734 credits; earliest issuance on record (183 sold by October 2024)
  2. 2023SourceMaterial (13 November) and Break Free From Plastic/GAIA (29 November) report on kiln and incineration use
  3. 202422 April: Eunomia white paper (7,061 credits issued, 192 retired); 23 July: registry data of 10,146 issued and 228 retired; November: Eunomia report for Fauna & Flora
  4. 202529 July: ADB fact sheet records 60+ listed and 32 registered Verra projects

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“We need to stop producing so much plastic.”

Neil Tangri, GAIA · undated, as cited in the sources reviewed

“of the 10,146 credits issued, only 228 have been retired (sold), which is just 2.2% of the total.”

“believe in the effectiveness of plastic credits without a credible, solid, and harmonized global standard.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

How large is Verra’s plastic programme, and how much of it has sold?
Researchers
Eunomia for Fauna & Flora (November 2024)

13 registered projects and 10,146 credits issued; 228 retired (2.2%); the report’s Table 4 gives 213.

Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
Researchers
Eunomia white paper (22 April 2024)

64 applied, 58 listed and 8 registered; 7,061 credits issued, 192 (2.7%) retired.

Eunomia
Standard-setters and registries
Verra

36 registered projects in 20 countries and more than 500,000 credits “approved”; the page is undated.

Verra
International bodies
Asian Development Bank (fact sheet)

60 or more listed and 32 registered projects as of 29 July 2025.

Asian Development Bank
Does plastic sent to incineration and cement kilns count as plastic waste reduction?
Standard-setters and registries
Verra

Treats incineration with energy recovery and co-processing in cement kilns as acceptable end-of-life treatment.

Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
Communities and civil society
Break Free From Plastic and GAIA

22% of Verra projects and 86% of PCX projects send plastic to burning or kilns.

Break Free From Plastic / GAIA
Press and investigations
SourceMaterial

More than 80% of plastic collected by PCX goes to cement kilns; only 14% of PCX credits come from recycling.

SourceMaterial
Communities and civil society
Neil Tangri, GAIA

“We need to stop producing so much plastic.”

Do major brands rely on plastic credits?
Company or project
Nestlé

Says it does not buy plastic credits without a credible, solid and harmonized global standard.

Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
Company or project
Coca-Cola and Unilever

Said in 2022 that credits are not a solution.

Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
Press and investigations
SourceMaterial (November 2023)

Nestlé Philippines spent $732,900, all on burning credits; Century Pacific bought 15,461 credits (about $1.1m) against a declared footprint of 10,378 t.

SourceMaterial

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • 36 registered projects in 20 countries and more than 500,000 credits “approved”
    Verra (undated page) · Verra

Recorded

  • 13 registered PWRS projects in 11 countries; 98,876 t collected or recycled; 8 projects issued credits (data to 23 July 2024)
    Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
  • 10,146 credits issued; 76% collection credits and 24% (2,463) recycling credits; 228 retired (2.2%), Table 4 gives 213
    Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
  • Verra treats incineration with energy recovery and cement-kiln co-processing as acceptable end-of-life treatment
    Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
  • More than 80% of plastic collected by PCX goes to cement kilns; 14% of PCX credits come from recycling (SourceMaterial, 2023)
    SourceMaterial
  • 22% of Verra projects and 86% of PCX projects send plastic to burning or kilns (Break Free From Plastic/GAIA, 2023)
    Break Free From Plastic / GAIA
  • Verra publishes no prices; a price of $500 a credit was reported by one project founder
    Eunomia

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Second Life Thailand: implied revenue from 192 retired credits at a reported $500 estimate≈ $0.1m
192 credits × $500, the price reported by the project founder.
Currency: USD · Window: to April 2024. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • Verra (undated): Says it has 36 registered plastic projects in 20 countries and more than 500,000 credits “approved”; “approved” is not the same as issued. · Verra
  • Nestlé (2024): Says it does not buy plastic credits; it does not “believe in the effectiveness of plastic credits without a credible, solid, and harmonized global standard.” · Eunomia for Fauna & Flora
  • Coca-Cola and Unilever (2022): Said in 2022 that credits are not a solution. · Eunomia for Fauna & Flora

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Credits retired, share of credits issued
2.2%
228 of 10,146 (Table 4 gives 213); registry data to 23 July 2024
Collection credits vs recycling credits
76% / 24%
2,463 recycling credits of 10,146 issued
Plastic collected or recycled by 13 registered projects
98,876 t
Eunomia for Fauna & Flora, November 2024
PCX projects using cement-kiln co-processing
40% by number, 75% by capacity
35 listed projects on 24 July 2024; 396,120 t annual capacity

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Key earnings undisclosed

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
  • Disputed Does plastic sent to incineration and cement kilns count as plastic waste reduction?

Accounts

  • Disputed How large is Verra’s plastic programme, and how much of it has sold?
  • Disputed Do major brands rely on plastic credits?

Record

  • None on record Prices paid for Verra plastic credits: Verra publishes no prices.
  • None on record Credits retired: the report’s text says 228, its Table 4 says 213, and 228 also appears in the same report as the number of retirement transactions for another scheme (Zero Plastic Oceans, OBP).
  • None on record Verra’s claim of more than 500,000 credits “approved” is undated and is not the same as credits issued.
  • Disputed Counts of registered projects differ by source and date: 8 (April 2024), 13 (July 2024), 36 (Verra, undated) and 32 (ADB, July 2025).
  • None on record Nestlé Philippines’ burning credits: SourceMaterial put the $732,900 spend entirely on burning credits; another source gives 86% of Nestlé’s credits as cement-kiln burning.

Did the harm stop?

The sources do not record that any plastic loss or burning stopped; they record issuance, retirement and treatment figures.

Who paid?

Buyers paid for the credits that sold (about $100–1,600 a tonne across schemes, per Fauna & Flora 2024); the sources do not record who paid for any cost to nature.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers✓ Standard-setters and registries✓ International bodies

Press and investigations

  2. Plastic offsets: rubbish or remedy?
    Packaging Gateway · 2023

Communities and civil society

  2. Smoke and Mirrors: the Realities of Plastic Credits and Offsetting
    Break Free From Plastic / GAIA · 2023-11-29

Researchers

  1. Plastic Credits White Paper
    Eunomia · 2024-04-22

Standard-setters and registries

International bodies

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Carbon and conservation finance

Buffer pool
A reserve of credits held back from sale by a carbon programme to cover future losses, such as forest burned or logged after credits were issued. It works as the programme's own insurance.
Carbon credit
A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.
REDD+
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. A UN framework under which forest projects earn carbon credits for deforestation they say they prevented, measured against a projected baseline.
Retired credit
A credit that has been used to make a climate claim and is permanently removed from circulation in the registry.
Standard-setter and registry
An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.

Science and environment

Groundwater
Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.
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