Market Trends of ASEAN Waste Management Industry
Indonesia Advances Zero-Plastic Waste Ambitions with Public-Private Partnership to Build Waste Management Capacity and Capability
On June 20, 2022, the Indonesian government declared yet another significant step toward achieving trash management goals outlined in the nation's National Action Plan for Sea Debris Management and National Plastic Action Partnership. The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance), a worldwide non-profit organization, has joined with the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs (CMMAI), the Malang Regency, and other parties to create the Bersih Indonesia: Eliminasi Sampah Plastik initiative. One of the largest public-private waste management partnerships in the world, the initiative aims to improve the collection, sorting, and recycling of plastic trash in Indonesia. Moreover, it intends to show how a commercially viable plastic waste management strategy can be scaled up and applied across Indonesia and beyond.
With a population of over 270 million and the largest economy in ASEAN, Indonesia is a vital actor in the effort to minimize plastic waste on a regional and global scale. It joined the Global Plastic Action Partnership in 2019 and launched the National Plastic Action Partnership as the first nation. By 2025, the amount of marine plastic waste leakage is to be reduced by 70%, and by 2040, there will be almost no plastic waste contamination. In order to meet these goals, waste management and recycling would need to receive around USD 18 billion in capital investments between 2017 and 2040. By that same year, solid waste management will also need an extra USD 1 billion in operating funding. Bersih Indonesia was created to improve collecting, sorting, processing, and recycling while also addressing funding issues on two fronts. To achieve this, it optimized operating expenses and improved revenue sources by combining regency-wide collection fees with increased material sales.
The project will be implemented in phases over three Javan regencies Malang, Magelang, and Sukabumi-serving a total of about 6.5 million people. When operating at full capacity, the three systems hope to divert roughly 140,000 tonnes of plastic garbage annually and collect over 800,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste together, with the potential to support up to 8,000 employment. The multi-year project has begun in Malang, East Java's second-largest regency. Phase One will be constructed at a cost of USD 29 million, which will be covered entirely by the Alliance, and is anticipated to serve more than 2.6 million people.
Changing the Tide on Plastic Waste in Southeast Asia through Regional Cooperation
Governments are measuring and monitoring plastics leakage on land, in rivers, and nearby oceans using cutting-edge techniques. The use of market-based tools and laws may be shown in globally successful instances. To enable customization, ASEAN nations are searching for direction and best practices. Plastics, which were heralded as a wonder material in the middle of the 20th century, today permeate every facet of everyday life worldwide. Yet, the rapid growth of plastic garbage presents serious risks to the environment, human health, and way of life, as well as related expenses. An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean annually as of July 2022.
In addition, if no immediate action is taken, this sum will quadruple in the next two decades. Southeast Asia has become a major source of plastic pollution due to its fast urbanization, growing middle class, and weak waste management infrastructure. Here are five of the top ten nations responsible for plastic leakage into rivers and oceans. Moreover, COVID-19 has been a plastic pandemic that has led to sharp rises in the use of single-use products including masks, sanitizing bottles, and packaging for internet deliveries. The cycle of take, make, and waste is typical of the plastics economy.
This indicates that between USD 80 billion (SD 112 billion) and USD 120 billion per year roughly 95% of the value of plastic packaging is lost to the economy due to waste. When single-use plastic is thrown rather than collected and recycled, approximately 75% of the material value of recyclable plastic is lost in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. This represents a loss of USD 6 billion annually.
There were 14 top priorities for member nations in the ASEAN Regional Action Plan. Also, the World Bank authorized a USD 20 million grant last month to help fund these initiatives, which include bolstering and harmonizing regional rules that control the manufacture and consumption of plastics.
