Day 2: Enabling policies and market transformation
17 November 2021
Day two initially focused on the critical role cities play in addressing waste management and preventing plastic waste leakage into waterways and the ocean. Asian cities are buckling under the pressure of managing waste associated with rapid urbanisation and population growth. The plastic crisis has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and rise of personal protection equipment such as masks and gloves that are increasingly finding their way into water systems.
At an international level, the Basel Convention and bans on imported scraps have helped to limit the transboundary movement of plastic waste. Pilot projects showcased by representatives from the Philippines, Malaysia, and India highlighted that municipality-level action is crucial in the implementation of national government waste reduction policies. Success was largely due to grassroot engagement and using community champions to enforce local littering laws and supporting informal waste pickers to underpin city efforts to sort and recycle waste. Baseline studies to monitor progress and build science-based targets are crucial to improving waste management initiatives, but a skills and capacity-gap is holding back wider implementation, experts said.
The second part of the day’s discussion focussed on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where producers bear the responsibility for the collection and treatment of their products when they reach end-of-life. It is a concept that is still in its infancy in this region but is considered a crucial and necessary part of the solution to packaging waste and pollution. Policy is important, but education is critical. Experts spoke about raising awareness about EPR and waste segregation and management of waste in local governments, within industry and for the general public.
Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), intermediaries that facilitate a producer’s compliance, play a part in connecting actors along the value chain and closing waste management infrastructure gaps. A potential focus for PROs could be expanding the collection of low-value packaging, particularly in rural areas. Other efforts should focus on the integration of small to medium enterprises and manufacturers into EPR schemes. Regulation is important as enforcement will be difficult while schemes remain voluntary.
Circular economy advocates rounded the second day off with examples of business models that ensure plastic products remain at their highest economic value for as long as possible, staying out of waterways and ocean. Repurposing plastic destined for landfill is being deployed across a range of industries. A property developer in Singapore is blending waste plastic to create non-structural applications in buildings. Ocean-bound plastic and ghost fishing nets are repurposed to create lifestyle products. To tackle the problem of non-recyclable so-called orphan single-use plastic, communities are being given financial incentives to collect it as part of plastic neutralisation schemes. Orphan plastic can be processed into Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials which can be used in the production of cement, potentially driving down the emissions of built infrastructure. Again, we are reminded that recycling is not enough and not the primary solution to solve plastic pollution. More focus is needed on addressing upstream efforts to prevent new unnecessary plastics to be produced and keeping those existing within the economy and out of the environment.
