Global companies including BASF, DowDuPont, Procter & Gamble and SABIC have formed an alliance to fight plastic waste, pledging to spend $1.5 billion over the next five years.

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), unveiled by its 28 founding companies on Wednesday, convened amid reports of a worsening environmental crisis from about 8 million tons of plastic waste that end up in oceans every year, which has triggered bans on some single-use plastic products.

Current alliance members have committed more than $1 billion to the project over the next five years, while money that additional members will pledge should take the five-year budget to about $1.5 billion, a spokesman said.