Michelle Boon bullish upbeat about circular economy measures in Southeast Asia

As the packaging industry prioritises the circular economy, more businesses are developing new ways to recover plastics and return them to use. Mainetti’s Polyloop is one example, where clear polythene is collected, cleaned and reprocessed so it can be used again in new applications. This reduces the industry’s dependence on virgin plastics and ensures recycled plastic remains usable in the supply chain for longer – without downcycling.

Effective recycling of all mismanaged plastic waste in South and Southeast Asia could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 200-million tonnes.

This year, the Vietnamese government took a step toward establishing an EPR scheme under the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection. The policy shifts accountability to packaging producers and importers, requiring them to manage the post-consumer stage of their products.

Such national initiatives encourage firms to design products with recyclability in mind, fostering a circular economy through collaboration among a range of stakeholders – from government to business.

Meanwhile, India’s Namaste scheme integrates waste collectors into a formal waste management system. Waste collectors play a vital role in India’s recycling ecosystem, and by recognising and formalising their contributions, the country can expand recycling efforts while ensuring fair working conditions for collectors.

For countries that are frequent destinations for waste exports from wealthier nations, it is essential that governments implement import bans to strengthen domestic capacity to manage their own plastic pollution challenges – rather than becoming a dumping ground for others’ waste.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, only 9% of plastic worldwide is actually recycled. This highlights a clear gap in the global recycling chain, underscoring the need for packaging design to align more closely with existing recycling systems.

By considering the circularity of a material at the design stage, every component of the product can be connected to an effective collection and recycling pathway. Designing with mono-materials is one example of how innovative design can simplify the recycling process and ensure that recyclable materials are properly sorted, collected, and reprocessed.

Driving factors

Businesses in Southeast Asia have various recognised standards such as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with which they can align their sustainability targets. For example, the SDG 12 focuses on responsible consumption and production, encouraging firms and governments to reduce waste and support recycling and reuse by 2030.

To align with this goal, businesses should increase the level of recycled content in their products and invest in circular packaging designs that enable reuse and recovery, ensuring materials remain in a closed loop cycle.

Similarly, the SDG 14 aims to reduce marine pollution and urges countries to prevent plastic leakage from land to water, protecting coastal communities and marine life. To achieve this, governments must bolster recycling infrastructure and collection systems to ensure that all materials remain in circulation rather than entering the environment.

By aligning such standards, businesses and governments can minimise plastic waste and facilitate a truly circular economy that operates consistently across markets. 

For the South and Southeast Asian region to achieve a circular economy, all countries must limit their waste exports from wealthier nations. Several countries have already taken this step, with Thailand and Indonesia having banned plastic waste imports this year.

These bans help prevent waste from shifting across borders and demonstrates how coordinated action can keep materials within regional systems, offering a useful model for other countries aiming to limit imports and improve recycling networks. 

Such regulatory action prevents packaging waste from shifting from one country to another – while encouraging wealthier nations to reduce their reliance on virgin plastics if exporting is not an option.

Sustainability and end-use of packaging materials

Meanwhile, for the packaging industry, companies should adopt mono-material designs to simplify the recycling process and boost recovery rates. Businesses should also assess materials based on more than just their recyclability. Although paper is one sustainable option owing to its renewable source and ease of recycling, it’s important to consider its full environmental footprint.

Depending on the need and the use, it is important for businesses to evaluate the entire lifecycle of a material – from production to disposal – to ensure all potential impacts are considered.

To embrace a more flexible approach to sustainability, businesses should ask questions – such as where does this material come from and where is it going? By doing so, businesses can make more informed decisions that support the transition toward a circular economy.

To this end, innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. Clear design guidelines help teams stay aligned with these goals – for example, specifying a minimum level of recycled content in materials. These guidelines enable a clear balance between sustainability and creativity, ensuring a range of operational goals are met. 

Overall, simply swapping plastic for paper does little to mitigate the environmental damage of the packaging industry when paper waste makes up significant imports into the South and Southeast Asian region. For example, in 2023, the UK exported about 3.4-million tonnes of paper waste – with India, Malaysia, and Vietnam receiving over 70% of these exports.

In short, by designing for circularity from the outset, companies have both the power and responsibility to tackle environmental challenges at the source – enhancing recycling processes and reducing the sector’s overall environmental footprint.

Michelle Boon is the global general manager of flexible packaging at Mainetti. She has almost three decades of industry experience, and having played a pivotal role in Mainetti’s expansion into Southeast Asia and the recent launch of the company’s new North Vietnam facility, Michelle believes in the need for enforceable regulations that safeguard the region from external pressures.