Experts at a resource efficiency conference in Singapore said a technological revolution is needed for waste management, but the world must first stop treating the issue as an afterthought.
Waste management should not be taken in isolation, but rather as part of a cyclical process said speakers at the third regional 3R Forum held at the Sheraton Hotel earlier this month.
Chikako Takase, acting director of the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), told Eco-Business on the side lines of the event that people should stop thinking of waste as a separate issue. “Framing it as 3R will address the whole cycle. It is more powerful than just talking about waste,” she said.
Asia’s first 3R Forum was held in 2009 in Tokyo and led to the Tokyo Statement, a declaration from 15 Asian countries of their commitment to reducing the region’s growing waste problems through the three ‘R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle). Policies based on 3R planning address the design, production and consumption trends that ultimately determine the amount of waste society produces.
At this year’s forum, a group of 200 policy-makers, industry experts and NGO representatives from 23 countries spent three days discussing technology transfer and the importance of 3R initiatives to a green economy.
The main output of the forum, which was co-hosted by the National Environment Agency (NEA), UNCRD and Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, was a set of recommendations on resource efficiency and waste management for the June 2012 United Nations sustainable development summit known as Rio+20.
In her opening speech, Ms Takase noted that 3R initiatives were inherently strategic to accomplishing the stated goals of Rio+20, which include promoting a green economy and poverty eradication.
The 3R concept addresses the three main aspects of sustainability - resource efficiency, environmental protection and social equity – in a natural way, said Ms Takase.
“3R policies and programmes can offer potential solutions and benefits for cities and countries to decouple resource usage and the associated environmental damages from economic growth,” she said.
She noted that communities tend to consider implementing 3R initiatives to be a burden. But the process can help minimise waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve natural resources, protect land and water, and improve public health, she said.
Economic benefits exist too. “Promoting recycling technology can create new industry and new jobs,” she added.
Asia’s awareness of the 3R concept is growing but a number of constraints exist, Ms Takase told Eco-Business.
Japan, China and South Korea have implemented solid policy frameworks that involve consumers, businesses, industries and government agencies. Countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh have recently created national policies that incorporate the 3R concept.
But in many cases, the national strategies have yet to be implemented by local authorities, said Ms Takase, who added that more capacity and awareness was needed at local levels.
“The local authorities are the ones who will be implementing waste management and 3R policies on the ground, but the concept (of addressing the whole product chain rather than just solid waste) is a little bit new,” she said.
She added that local and central authorities would benefit from looking at successful case studies such as a Japanese 3R programme called the Sound Material-Cycle Society, and also from looking at failures. One such failure involved the import of advanced incineration technology to communities in developing countries whose waste streams were ill-suited for the technology.
Keynote speaker Luis Diaz, who chairs a task group on developing countries for the International Waste Working Group, agreed that getting local authorities on board was a necessity. “You need political will. If the mayor is not willing to work with you, don’t waste your time,” he said, referring to implementing waste management strategies.
Earlier this year, a UN commission on sustainable development launched a new programme aimed at bringing local authorities and companies into waste management planning. The International Partnership for Expanding Waste Management Services of Local Authorities (IPLA) was set up as a platform for authorities and industries in developing countries to share ideas on overcoming financial, technological and political barriers to good waste management.
Ms Takase said that IPLA, whose global secretariat is based at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, would lead to a better exchange of information and allow Asian countries to take advantage of the momentum building around the 3R concept. “I hope that partnerships (between the public and private sectors) will grow within this platform,” she added.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency, said that Singapore has been working to build capacity throughout the region as well through commercial ventures.
An NEA spokesperson told Eco-Business that with support from NEA and other government agencies, Singapore’s environment industries - and in particular the waste management industry - has clinched close to S$3 billion worth of deals in overseas projects over the past five years.
But, they added, the main benefits of developing 3R initiatives are felt at home, and are derived from reducing waste at source through better product design, efficient resource use and maximising the recovery of resources from waste.
The NEA promotes the message that waste is a resource. Proper use of that resource saves water, energy and raw materials in the production and consumption of goods and services, and addresses climate change and other environmental problems, said the spokesperson.
To encourage resource efficiency, NEA implemented policies such as funding schemes for the research and development of 3R technologies, national recycling programmes and a voluntary programme for industry called the Singapore Packaging Agreement, which rewards businesses for reducing the resources used for packaging.
Next year, NEA will host its first CleanEnviro Summit Singapore as a platform for high level government and industry talks on resource efficiency and waste management solutions within the 3R context for Asia’s cities.
