Increasing population and urbanisation have led to the generation of enormous solid waste in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region, the mismanaged collection and processing of which have led to increased water, land and air pollution, worsening the quality of life. SEA countries are among the largest contributors to the pollution of oceans due to the disposal of plastic waste. In 2022, around 31 million tonnes of plastic was estimated to have been generated. Therefore, there is a need to improve waste management mechanisms in this region. Countries in the SEA region are adopting more sustainable strategies to treat various types of solid waste. Some of the ongoing and planned initiatives in the region include the setting up of waste-to-energy (WtE) plants, circular economy-based solutions, various natural treatment methods like bioremediation and the adoption of digital mechanisms for tracking waste.

WtE treatment

The growing demand for energy and rising pollution in SEA countries have pushed them to utilise waste as a resource to generate energy. Instead of open burning, the calorific value of the waste is used through incineration in WtE plants. Most of the nations have undertaken projects to develop these facilities. For instance, the first WtE plant in Vietnam was launched in Phu Lang village, northern Bac Ninh province, on November 1, 2023. The plant has a treatment capacity of 800 tonnes per day (tpd) (domestic and industrial solid waste). It can generate around 6.1 MW of electricity and serves as a sustainable model for the exchange of carbon certificates based on the Paris Agreement and a bilateral agreement between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea. Several similar initiatives are being taken in Malaysia owing to its huge waste generation of 38,000 tpd. For instance, a WtE plant with a capacity to generate 12 MW of electricity began operations in the Bukit Tagar Enviro Park (BTEP), Selangor, Malaysia, in September 2023. The BTEP is an initiative of the Ministry of Local Government Development that aims to feed around 339 million kWh of electricity to the power grid.This project is also a part of the ministry’s policy to establish at least one such plant in every state in Malaysia. Similarly, another facility is planned to be developed in Selangor state. This plant will generate 52 MW of electricity by treating 2,900 tonnes of waste. Work on the project is expected to start by 2026. Furthermore, in September 2023, an MoU was signed between the Malaysia-based construction company Citaglobal Berhad and Shanghai SUS Environment Company Limited to collaborate and develop multiple WtE plants in Malaysia to reduce the disposal of waste in landfills. Among other ongoing efforts, a project is being undertaken to set up a WtE plant capable of processing 50 tpd of waste in Manila, the Philippines. As a part of this project, 18 more such plants will be set up by 2026, including in other locations like Quezon and Caloocan cities. The project is targeted to treat around 900 tonnes of municipal solid waste annually from all the facilities.

Solutions towards a circular economy

SEA governments are actively promotinga circular economy to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills and reuse resources. Plastic waste is a major waste component that is being recycled through various initiatives. For instance, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia, has set itself the target of achieving zero waste and emission by 2050 by accelerating the circular economy. As of June 2023, most of the waste (41.55 per cent) generated in the country is food waste, followed by plastic waste with a share of 18.55 per cent. However, the generation of plastic waste is increasing rapidly at an annual rate of 5 per cent. The government is encouraging companies like food and beverage, cement manufacturing, electronics, etc., to implement the reduce, reuse and recycling (3R) strategy in their processes.

Similarly, in July 2023, Singapore implemented a charge on disposable carrier bags in the country. It is also developing ways to recycle electrical equipment under the extended producer responsibility scheme for e-waste. It is planning to introduce a Beverage Container Return Scheme to increase the recycling rate of beverage containers. It will encourage consumers to return their empty beverage containers for recycling and making new products. In a related development, a new blueprint is being drafted for solid waste management in Malaysia and is planned to be launched soon. It would innovate with the 9R concept that includes refuse, reduce, rethink, reuse, repair, renew, reproduce, recycle, and recover waste. This will help extend the utility of products and curb their direct disposal at landfills. Furthermore, the private sector is also using methods to transition to a circular economy.

In the Philippines, this has been done by a cement company, CEMEX, with the launch of a business segment called Regenera, which specialised in providing circularity-based solutions. It will also utilise municipal waste and industrial by-products as alternatives to natural raw materials and fossil fuels in its production processes. Additionally, it will partner with over 30 local governments and other private companies to expand this initiative. Similarly, Coca-Cola Malaysia, in collaboration with the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce, aims to implement circularity in plastic packaging through intersectoral collaborations and partnerships.

Sustainable technologies and digital systems

There is a greater focus on implementing nature-based waste treatment solutions on a large scale. These solutions deploy natural/organic materials and processes for waste treatment. In Singapore, many such initiatives are being taken under the Ocean Purpose Project, which is aimed at tackling the pollution of the ocean by plastic waste. Under this project, 100 mussel and seaweed lines will be used around a fish farm in northern Singapore, which will treat chemicals like nitrates and ammonia in water and reduce algal blooms that harm marine life. Recently, SailGP announced its plan to fund the project, which will help measure the water quality of these lines.

Further, a battery recycling and processing company in Singapore is also planning to scale up the technology of recycling spent lithium-ion batteries, and using reagents extracted from fruit peel waste. A pilot battery recycling plant will use this technology to process up to 2,000 litres of spent, shredded batteries. In another development, UNDP Indonesia plans to deploy a digital platform called DIGIT to manage the flow of medical waste in Indonesia. It has signed an MoU with the eGov Foundation of India in August 2023 to use this platform. This platform will allow end-to-end management of medical waste generated by nearly 13,000 health facilities in the country.

In sum

As per industry estimates, more than half the waste generated by SEA countries is not collected, and less than a quarter is recycled. There is mounting pressure on governments to adopt action plans and roadmaps to address land- and ocean-based waste pollution. To this end, country initiatives like Thailand’s Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management 2018-2030, Indonesia’s Plan of Action on Marine Plastic Debris 2017-2025, Malaysia’s Roadmap Towards Zero SingleUse Plastics 2018-2030, Vietnam’s National Action Plan for Management of Marine Litter by 2030, etc. are targeted towards long-term sustainable waste management.