Seychelles, as a Small Island Developing State, faces a growing challenge from plastic pollution, particularly Single-Use Plastics (SUPs) used in packaging and everyday consumer goods. With limited landfill capacity and distance from international recycling markets, most plastic waste cannot be effectively managed once it reaches the islands. Despite legislation introduced in 2005 banning selected single-use plastics, the importation and use of disposable packaging continue to rise. This waste accumulates in constrained landfill sites or is discarded into the natural environment, contributing to visual pollution, health risks, and the worsening of coastal flooding.

The S4S Resilience to Climate Vulnerability and Environmental Risk (RECOVER) project, funded by the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) programme addresses these interconnected issues in vulnerable coastal communities through the Real-World Labs (RWLs). Within RECOVER, RWLs are spaces for adaptation engagement across various stakeholder groups, including the most climate-vulnerable and marginalized. In other words, RWLs are problem-solving and reflection spaces; their main goal is to support sustainable change and create solutions to societal problems through an inclusive process. In Seychelles, to understand and seek solutions to the SUP challenge, the RWL fostered an inclusive stakeholder process. These consultations were a cornerstone of the project, ensuring that interventions are informed by lived experiences, local knowledge, and social realities.