Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand urged to better manage plastic waste
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 75 per cent of the material value of plastics worth US$6 billion is lost per year across Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, according to the World Bank.
A series of studies by the bank, which examined the untapped economic opportunities to promote plastic circularity and address marine debris in the three countries, revealed that they had less than a quarter of plastics available for recycling into valuable materials.
Its country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, Ndiamé Diop, said mismanaged plastic waste across Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand was threatening key economic sectors such as tourism and fisheries, and impacting livelihoods and infrastructure.
“But there is strong government momentum in these countries to identify critical policies, craft roadmaps to strengthen demand for all recycled plastic resins, level the playing field for global and domestic companies, and drive a circular economy for plastics,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Diop said the studies also showed that there was an untapped opportunity to reap environmental and economic benefits with clear and complementary interventions from the private and public sector.
Using a plastic value chain approach, the studies evaluated the plastics recycling industry and its role in supporting a circular economy and scaling up recycling efforts via targeted public and private sector interventions.
While the studies found that barriers to plastic recycling were unique to each country, there were common actions that governments and industries could take to help Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand unlock additional material value.
Recommendations include increase sorting efficiency of postconsumer collection of plastics, set recycled content targets across all major end-use applications, mandate “design for recycling” standards for plastics and encourage increase in recycling capacities (mechanical and chemical).