A circular economy, which reintegrates plastic products into the economy and prevents them from becoming waste, offers a potentially sustainable solution to the pressing issue of plastic pollution.
However, its adoption faces significant barriers, particularly the region’s limited waste collection systems and low recycling rates. A recent policy brief by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) examined these challenges in detail.
Authored by ERIA research associates Aulia Salsabella Suwarno and Ivana Suradja, the brief highlighted key obstacles that hinder efforts to enhance reuse and recycling across the region.
In the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region alone, the decline in marine ecosystem services caused by plastic pollution is estimated to cost USD10.8 billion annually.
This crisis is driven by the rapid growth in plastic production and consumption, coupled with insufficient waste management infrastructure.
“This has entrenched a linear economic model, where resources are extracted, processed, consumed, and ultimately discarded, often ending up in landfills or the environment,” the authors wrote.
A circular economy, according to the researchers, shifts the focus to resource recovery and regeneration, primarily through reuse, which involves utilising items with minimal modification, and recycling, which breaks materials down for repurposing.
For plastics, two main recycling methods are employed: mechanical recycling, which reprocesses plastic waste into raw materials, and chemical recycling, which deconstructs plastics into basic monomers for reuse.
According to a 2021 World Bank study, missed opportunities in plastic recycling across Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are estimated at approximately USD6 billion annually.
To tackle plastic pollution, nearly all ASEAN member states have integrated reuse and recycling strategies into their National Action Plans (NAPs).
“However, achieving the necessary scale to significantly reduce plastic pollution in ASEAN remains challenging.”
Singapore, one of the region’s more advanced economies, achieved 100 per cent waste collection coverage in 2023.
However, its plastic recycling rate was just six per cent, highlighting the persistent challenges in addressing plastic waste.
Successful implementation, however, demands supportive measures across the entire plastic life cycle, as each stage forms part of an interconnected system.
“Reuse systems are ineffective if products are not designed to be reusable, and recycling efforts are limited without accessible waste management services,” the researchers noted.
Beyond circular product design, policy interventions at every stage of the life cycle are essential to advance reuse and recycling.
Several ASEAN member states have integrated such measures into their National Action Plans (NAPs). By the third quarter of 2024, six AMS had launched and implemented NAPs targeting plastic pollution, though the extent of integration varied across countries.
However, incomplete initiatives at any stage of the plastic life cycle can impede effective plastic reuse and recycling, the researchers explained.
“Without increased demand for recycled plastic pellets through upstream interventions, the recycling industry may lack incentives to grow and scale up. This could, in turn, reduce plastic waste collection due to limited demand for recyclables.”
A comprehensive approach to the plastic value chain is thus imperative, enabling AMS to develop strategies that support scaling reuse and recycling markets.
While policy interventions provide a foundation for these advancements, implementation often encounters significant technical, logistical, and financial hurdles.
Globally, an estimated USD1 trillion investment is required annually to reduce mismanaged plastic volumes by 90 per cent by 2040, relative to 2019 levels.
Although economies of scale may eventually drive down the costs of waste collection and management, the systems for plastic circularity in ASEAN have not yet reached the scale or efficiency needed to make this economically viable.
“AMS face high financial demands to establish and operate these systems, which is particularly difficult in an already capital-intensive and underfunded waste sector,” the brief stated.
To overcome these challenges, governments should consider bolstering non-policy interventions, such as providing technical assistance, logistical support, and financial mechanisms for stakeholders throughout the plastic value chain.
These measures would help foster an enabling environment for a circular plastics economy, ensuring that policy ambitions translate into meaningful, actionable outcomes. – Wardi Wasil
