The Southeast Asian (SEA) region is grappling with challenges related to solid waste management, owing to rapid urbanisation, population growth and increasing consumption trends. The region faces significant environmental and health risks due to open dumping of waste in landfills. However, efforts are under way to address these issues through innovative technological interventions in waste collection and segregation, private players providing technology-based solutions like smart bins, waste-to-energy (WtE) initiatives and recycling of different kinds of prevalent solid waste like plastic. The use of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and others aim to promote sustainable waste management practices by optimising waste collection routes, enhancing waste sorting accuracy, analysis of waste generation patterns and others.
Innovative waste collection and segregation methods
The SEA region is increasingly using technology for waste collection and segregation, including tools like AI for sorting and ML for analysis of waste-related data. These help in the efficient management of waste by real-time tracking of waste collection and disposal, analysis and segregation of different types of waste content, thus paving the way for systematic material recycling and recovery. In line with this, in March 2025, the Government of Thailand launched smart separators for bottles and cans. The machine is capable of identifying and segregating materials like clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET), colour PET, high density polyethylene (HDPE), aluminium and steel. It can handle bottles of capacity of around 600 millilitres, displays the number of items discarded and analyses the data on waste reduction, recycling, and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The machine also integrates an application and membership programme to incentivise and reward users on the basis of their waste contribution.
WtE-related initiatives
The growing challenge of massive waste generation in the SEA region is driving innovation, with the emergence of research and technology initiatives to transform waste into a valuable resource. Countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam deploy technologies like incineration, anaerobic digestion and gasification to convert waste into energy (heat or fuel). Besides, WtE and related initiatives help to reduce waste volume to a significant extent. However, proper classification of waste is a major prerequisite for maximum conversion to energy. Examples of major strides in this direction include the Soc Son WtE plant in Hanoi, Vietnam, that addresses around 70 per cent of Hanoi’s municipal solid waste. It is the largest WtE plant in Vietnam that can process around 5,000 tonnes of waste every day, generating approximately 90 MW of electricity. It has 16 waste unloading gates to accommodate different types of garbage trucks. Further, in March 2025, the Government of Indonesia announced plans to build 30 WtE plants in 30 Indonesian cities, adding around 20 MW of power to each city from 2029.
Additionally, the establishment of refuse derived fuel (RDF)-based plants has also increased significantly. RDF-based plants are facilities that process solid waste materials into a source of fuel that can be used to generate electricity. Recently, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk (WIKA) has developed the Rorotan RDF plant in North Jakarta, Indonesia. The plant has a capacity of 2,500 tonnes per day and has been designed to produce alternative fuel equivalent to coal. It is expected to reduce the load at the Bantargebang landfill by about 30 per cent.
There has also been rising emphasis on the active deployment of environment, social and financial assessment tools like life cycle assessment to make waste incineration processes carbon neutral to the maximum possible extent. In this direction, Singapore will be launching a pilot project to assess the feasibility of carbon capture technologies at its WtE plants by 2026. This will help offset emissions produced in the waste incineration process.
Recycle and reuse of waste
The SEA countries are increasingly recognising the importance of waste circularity, particularly plastic waste, to mitigate the massive pollution caused by high plastic consumption. By adopting circular economy principles, these nations aim to reduce generation of plastic waste and increase its recycling rates. Plastic circularity involves redesigning, reusing and recycling plastic products to reduce the requirement for new virgin products significantly.
Among important steps pushing circularity, the Land Transport Authority, Singapore, had collaborated with the National University of Singapore in December 2024, to test an innovative way of using recycled plastic waste for road construction. The process includes the collection of plastic bottles, packaging, etc. and cleaning and fragmenting it into smaller pieces. This is followed by mixing with asphalt to create a composite that can be used for the construction of roads. Further innovations in the realm of plastic recycling include the use of chemicals that decompose plastics at the molecular level, enabling the processing of mixed and contaminated materials. Other technologies such as depolymerisation are also being explored in the region. The process breaks plastics into reusable parts while the use of pyrolysis and gasification helps turn plastics into fuel or raw materials.
Smart technologies offered by private players
The private sector in the SEA region is increasingly driving digital waste management innovations with recent developments showcasing impactful initiatives. Some of these solutions, like automated waste collection and recycling and live reporting and monitoring of GHG emissions caused by waste decomposition, are offered in SEA countries by private players like the SUEZ group. These innovations offer solutions for waste recycling, recovery and other aspects of managing waste. Besides, AI- and internet of things (IoT)-based smart bins like “e-bins” offered by Innoenergy deploy an object recognition system to identify and sort waste in an efficient manner.
In another development, in an effort to streamline the waste collection processes, GAEA, a Cambodia-based waste management company, is conducting a pilot project in the Slakram Commune, Cambodia. The initiative aims to utilise an internet-based mobile application for smart waste collection and transportation. This “Smart Clean Siem Reap” application provides information on real-time locations of waste collection trucks and their timing, facilitating an effective, efficient and convenient waste collection process. Similarly, NEC Global has leveraged advanced technologies to develop a real-time waste transportation monitoring system in Thailand to curb illegal industrial waste dumping. This solution enables efficient monitoring of illegal waste dumping, supporting sustainable waste management.
The way forward
The emergence of digital innovations in solid waste management in the SEA region promises to make solid waste management resilient in the long run. Going forward, the use of advanced AI algorithms by SEA countries can be streamlined to analyse waste composition data and optimise material recovery rates, predict waste generation patterns, etc. Further, the adoption of evolving technologies such as 6G to leverage real-time bin data, driverless waste collection and hyper-accurate sorting will also help strengthen solid waste management processes in the near future. Moreover, enhancing citizen engagement and awareness programmes will go a long way in promoting a circular economy in the SEA region.
