Philippines Combined Waste Disposal

© 2013 Asian Institute of Technology All rights reserved. Published 2013. Design and layout by Paul Jacob Printed in Thailand The Great Garbage of Asia Pathumthani, Thailand : AIT, 2013. The pictures and views expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). AIT does not guarantee the accuracy of the pictures included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) encourages printing or copying information exclusively for personal and non-commercial use with proper acknowledgement of author, users are restricted from copying photos for reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works for commercial purposes without the express, written consent of Author. Asian Institute of Technology 58 Moo 9, Km. 42, Paholyothin Highway Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 Thailand www.ait.asia Telephone: +(66 2) 516 0110 - 44 Fax: +(66-2) 516 2126

The Great Garbage

of

Asia

A Picture Book

By C. Visvanathan, Paul Jacob and Prakriti Kashyap

Table of Content

Preface Acknowledgement Introduction Chapter 1: Know Your Waste Chapter 2: Waste Collection, Transportation and Transfer Chapter 3: Waste Treatment and Disposal Chapter 4: 3r Initiatives Chapter 5: Conclusions

Preface

Asia is one of the largest and the most populated continents of the world, covering 8.7% of earth’s surface area and 30% of the total land surface. Asia housed an astounding population of 4.16 billion people in 2010, which amounted to little over 60% of the world’s total population. With increasing population, Asia is also experiencing a rampant urbanization with rapid expansion of urban centers. By 2030, more than 55% of the Asian population will be residing in urban settlements. Cities will merge together to create urban settlements on a scale never seen before. Urbanization basically means the improvement in standards of living of its residents with increased services/facilities. Nonetheless, the subsequent consequences of rampant urbanization are often manifested as environmental stress and degradation. Solid Waste management challenges are one of those stresses that Asian urban centers are currently facing. Solid waste generation in Asia is coupled with its economic activities, growing population, urbanization and industrialization. A study by the World Bank (1999) reveals that municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in urban Asia is expected to reach 1.8 million tonnes per day in 2025. Managing such a growing volume and diverse streams of waste from Asian urban centers is a mammoth task. Public and environmental health risks posed by poorly managed landfills, practice of open disposal of waste, and the lost opportunities of resource and energy recovery from waste are some of the major challenges of solid waste management in Asia. Waste collection, transportation, treatment and disposal are cumbersome tasks, furthered by budget, technology and capacity constraints in the local governing authorities, municipalities in specific, upon which the responsibility of waste management lies largely. Amidst the challenges there are some positive changes in Asian waste management scenario; application of integrated approach to waste management practicing reduce reuse recycle (3R) strategies is one such positive influence seen in progressive Asian countries. Things are moving towards improvements, however, more of such integrated policies, plans and practices are required. This picture book ‘The Great Garbage of Asia’ is a pictorial showcase of the current situation of (municipal) waste management in selected Asian countries. The photographs in this book are a compilation of 10 years volume of joint research work in Asia. The book takes its readers through a journey of waste management in Asia, starting with familiarizing the waste types, changing waste streams, conventional and innovative waste collection, treatment technologies and management strategies adopted. The illustrative journey will finally mesmerize the readers with Asian experiences on embracing the homebrew 3R practices for integrated solid waste management. Dr. C. Visvanathan, Environmental Engineering and Management Program, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology

C. Visvanathan

Everyone is a victim

I would like to give an especial thanks to Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for the ‘Project on Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Asia’. Most of the stories behind this book are part of the SIDA project. I offer my sincere thanks to SIDA research partners Mr. Zhou Gongming (National Engineering Research Centre for urban Pollution Control, Tongji University, China), Dr. Kurian Joseph (Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, India), Dr. B.F.A. Bansnayake (Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka), and Dr. Chart Chiemchaisri (Department of Environmental Engineering, Kasetsart University, Thailand) for their valuable contribution. I am equally indebted to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the project ‘3R Knowledge Hub’. The project offered opportunities to experience the status, challenges, need and scope of 3R practices in selected Asian countries. I appreciate my current research team Ms. Prakriti Kashyap, Mr Paul Jacob, Mr. Thusitha Rathnayake Dilruwan, and Ms. Arosha Kumarage for finally giving a shape to the picture book ‘The Great Garbage of Asia’. My extended thanks go to my past research team; Mr. Tenzin Norbu, Mr. Prem Anath, Ms. Radha Adhikari, Ms. Susan Jacob, Mr. Anand Deshmukh, Mr. Amila Abeynayaka, and Mr. Mohan Murali for their assistance in waste management projects. I am also thankful to Mr. Periyathamby Kuruparan, Ms. Jeaneger P. Juanga, Mr. Zaw Win Aung, Mr. Prajapati Shapkota, Mr. Mohammad Noor Shaida for their contributions towards the content of the book. Finally, I thank and dedicate the picture book to all the people and places I came across while understanding the waste management issues in Asia. C. Visvanathan, Ph.D. Professor Environmental Engineering and Management Program, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology

Acknowledgement

‘The Great Garbage of Asia’ is a collection of memories I countered during past 10 years of work experience on the solid waste management issues in Asia. This book is a journey in itself show-casing various facades of waste management, issues, challenges and solutions in Asian context. I take this opportunity to thank all my research project partners and colleagues for their contributions to this picture book at many levels.

Introduction

9

Introduction | The Great Garbage of Asia | January 2013

Uncontrolled urbanization, rapid industrialization and more erudite forms of consumerism are characterizing Asian waste in the 21st Century. Municipal solid waste is the typical by-products of urban life-style. Urban residents produce about twice as much waste as the rural population. Currently, world cities generate about 1.3 billion tonnes of solid waste per year. This volume is expected to increase to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025 (World Bank, 2012). Similarly, the MSW generation in urban Asia alone is expected to reach 1.8 million tonnes per day in 2025 (World Bank, 1999 ). Not only the volume but also the nature of waste stream is also changing, nevertheless, a major chunk of Asian waste still remains organic in nature. Nature of waste plays an important role in the selection of waste management technologies and strategies. In Asia, managing solid waste is generally a responsibility of local urban authorities, especially the municipalities. Solid waste management is one of the single largest budgeted items of those local authorities in most of the Asian countries. According to UN-HABITAT (2010 ) in lowincome countries, 80-90% of the municipality’s waste management budget is spent in collection services alone. Despite such high spending, waste collection in low-income countries is still lower and inefficient as compared to high-income countries, which uses less than 10% budget on waste collection, but collection rates are usually higher than 90% on average. The poor collection efficiency at low income countries is attributed to number of reasons; weaker management and supervision of collection crew/staffs by the municipality, inadequate and poorly maintained collection vehicles, diversified collection routes and insufficient capacity of transfer centers/stations etc. The nature, issues, challenges of waste and socio-economic conditions differ in Asian countries than other developed western world, hence transferring and copying western technologies to tackle waste in developing Asian countries may not provide the magical solution. In developing Asia, waste management is not only a technological issue, but a social phenomenon too. Waste sector serves as one of the income generation activities and sometimes the only livelihood options for the poorest of poor. However, because of its informal, unorganized nature their contributions are undervalued. Hoornweg, Daniel; Bhada-Tata, Perinaz. 2012. What a waste : a global review of solid waste management. Urban development series ; Lars Mikkel Johannessen and Gabriela Boyer.1999. Observations of Solid Waste Landfills in Developing Countries: Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Washington D.C. - The Worldbank.

knowledge

papers

no.

15.

Washington

D.C.

-

The

Worldbank.

10

Introduction

Presence of the informal waste sector, larger fraction of organic nature of waste etc is the typical characteristics of waste sector in Asian countries. Asia therefore has to adapt and adopt innovative solutions that best suits the local waste characteristics and conditions, addressing the waste management peculiarities. Participatory approach of waste management inclusive private sector, together with NGOs and the informal sector is a way forward in achieving more efficient and less costly waste management solutions in Asia. ‘The Great Garbage of Asia’ hence presents the pictographic symphony of the Asian solid waste management scenario. Each photograph tells a tale of its own, as experienced by the Asian cities. The book is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the definition, characteristics and nature of Municipal Solid Waste in Asian context. Chapter 2 is dedicated to the waste collection, transport and transfer methods adopted in those countries. Waste treatment and disposal techniques and options are illustrated in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 introduces reduce reuse and recycle (3R) practices both at large scale formal material recovery facilities as well as in informal recycling units. Opportunities of waste to resource and energy recovery and expansion of waste economy are presented in Chapter 5. World Bank. (2012). What a Waste- A Global Review of Solid Waste Management. Urban Development Series Knowledge Paper. No. 15, World Bank, Washington DC, USA. World Bank. (1999). ‘What a Waste: Solid Waste Management in Asia’. Urban Development Sector Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, Washington DC, USA. UN-HABITAT. (2010). Solid Waste Management in the World’s Cities. Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities 2010 United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

Highlighted Asian Countries - The Great Garbage of Asia

Butan Afghanistan

Cambodia

Indonesia

India

Lao PDR

Malaysia Flag Maps are not to scale

Highlighted Asian Countries - The Great Garbage of Asia

Nepal

Philippines

Sri Lanka

Thailand

Singapore Vietnam

Flag Maps are not to scale

13

Chapter 1 | The Great Garbage of Asia | January 2013

K

now Your Waste

Chapter 1 | Know Your Waste

Knowing the different types of waste, where does waste come from and where the waste does land up is an essential piece of information to understand the waste hierarchy. Basically, urban conglomerates generate (MSW) in larger scale than rural areas. MSW is basically the discarded everyday items by households and institutions. The characteristics of MSW vary from region to region and changes with time. The individualities and extent of MSW generated in a region is not only a function of the living standard and lifestyle of the region’s inhabitants but also the abundance and types of the region’s natural and economic resources. MSW is basically sub-divided into two major streams; Organic and Inorganic Waste. Organic waste is further classifiable into three broad categories: putrescible, fermentable, and non-fermentable. Putrescible wastes (mostly food waste) tend to decompose rapidly and unless carefully controlled decompose with the production of objectionable odors and visual unpleasantness. Fermentable waste (crop and market debris) also tends to decompose rapidly, but without unpleasant accompaniments of putrefaction. Non-fermentable waste on the other extent resists decomposition and therefore breaks down very slowly. Inorganic wastes are composed of other than plant or animal matters such as sand, dust, glass and many synthetics. MSW can also be classified as recyclables and non-recyclables. Paper, plastic, metals, glass etc are usually recycled to recover the material. Non-recyclables enters into the disposal channels, i.e., landfill and/or open dumps.

Do all these go Together ?

Many developing Asian cities do not have proper waste management systems in place. Mixing of MSW along with medical waste, industrial waste, and open disposal of these wastes in open areas and water bodies are major challenges faced by these Asian cities. Local authorities are working to improvise the waste management situation but the implementation is not wholesome. Asian Development Bank., (2011). Toward Sustainable Municipal Organic Waste Management in South Asia: A Guidebook for Policy Makers and Practitioners. Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

14

15


60%

Metal waste, Vietnam

Medical waste in Khoai village - Hung Yen province, Vietnam

waste is organic in nature

Vietnam has a per capita MSW generation of 1.46 kg/capita/day and this is projected to be 1.8 kg/capita/day in 2025.


An open dump at Vinh Cuu Town-Dong Nai province, Vietnam

16

17


Resuing leftovers from the vegetable market

Food for all

Organic waste from the vegetable market, Afghanistan

18


Kabul

produces nearly produces

3,000 tonnes of solid waste/day (UN habitat, 2010)

lth Hea

Kabul’s

ca

nd re a

hou

old seh

ther

ge te to

was

collection capacity only

4000tonnes/day Open d

umping

UN-HABITAT. (2010). Solid Waste Management in the World’s Cities. Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities 2010 United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

of solid

waste

on the

streets

19


t s o lm

%

100 A

Cambodian Waste is d u m pe d without any treatment or landfill

28%

Even though waste is Completely Recyclable

Medical waste with domestic waste, Cambodia

20


59% Mixed waste in landfill, India

Indian Waste is Uncatagoried !

21


Medical waste unloading at backyard storage point, Afghanistan


Riverside mixed waste dumping, Thailand

22

23


Beach littering, Nias-island Sitoli city, Indonesia


Collected recyclable in Nong Duang village, Vientiane, Lao PDR

24

25


Waste scavenger (sorting cloths) at Ghazipur landfill, Delhi, India


Cooking and serving food at the Vientiane landfill, Lao PDR

26


27

W

aste Collection, Transportation andTransfer

Chapter 2 | Waste Collection, Transportation and Transfer

Waste collection characterizes both as a vital utility function and also a necessary part of urban waste management services and infrastructural foundation. Waste collection, transport, storage and transfer are the important yardsticks of success of a waste management system. Waste handling in most Asian countries is still at its primitive stage. The first and foremost lacking point is source segregation, leading to ineffective collection of commingled waste. None or little source separation, poor handling and ill disposal practices are the bitter realities of solid waste management in low-income countries. World’s cities use between 3-15% of their total budget on solid waste management, and in low income developing countries 80-90% of this budget is spent on collection of waste alone (UN-Habitat, 2010 ). Waste collection and transportation is largely a responsibility of local municipalities, With restrained resources only the high-end and central areas get regular waste collection services. Most of the city’s outskirts are left out of the normal collection services. There comes the presence of informal waste sector and/or private waste collectors. The private waste collectors usually charge a waste collection from residents. This arrangement is visible in the low-income neighbourhood which is not served by municipal waste collection service. Informal waste pickers from roadside collection points, transfer stations and dumpsites in urban areas, has been the first available job for rural migrants. The informal sector is also engaged in the waste management activities largely as a private economic activities based on valorisation, trading with a strong network with intermediate dealers, waste iterant buyers, wholesalers and recyclers. The degree of source separation impacts the total amount of material recycled and the quality of secondary materials that can be supplied. Waste collection efficiency is usually attributed to the availability of appropriate waste collection vehicles, equipments and collection route. The poor collection efficiency at low income countries is out of a number of reasons; weaker management and supervision of collection crew/staffs by the municipality, inadequate and poorly maintained collection vehicles, diversified collection routes and insufficient capacity of transfer centers/stations etc. Waste collection vehicles, the compactor, in specific is usually unsuitable to high moisture containing waste in developing Asia. Also, most of the designs for solid waste collection vehicles are from developed world, where the population is relatively lower and urban planning is adequate to drive the collection vehicles on the streets. On the contrary, in Asian urban centers, narrow road and overcrowded settlements makes the imported vehicles difficult to run on the local streets. Also considering the livelihood angle to waste picking, heavily mechanized waste collection system may bring conflict with informal waste sector. Therefore, the Asian cities need to design or re-fabricate and select the suitable collection vehicles, road networks, routes. Transfer stations play an important role in waste management. Transfer stations are the temporary storage space for the collected waste before sending the waste to either landfills or treatment units. Transfer provides a safe space for segregation of recyclables from the waste, and material recycling facilities within or nearby the transfer stations saves additional transportation cost of the recyclables to far-off recycling units. Unfortunately, not all the developing urban conglomerations in Asia have transfer stations. It causes the additional cost of transportation of all collected waste to landfill, as well as the lost opportunity of waste recovery and recycling. Integration and recognition of informal waste collection service by the municipalities, appropriately designed collection vehicles, best suitable collection routes, timing and collection points, separate collection of MSW and other waste types, a balance of traditional and modern waste collection system and transfer station is the requirment of Asian cities. Some of the progressive Asian cities are following this suite of proper waste handling (collection, transfer and transportation). World Bank. (2012). What a Waste- A Global Review of Solid Waste Management. Urban Development Series Knowledge Paper. No. 15, World Bank, Washington DC, USA. UN-HABITAT. (2010). Solid Waste Management in the World’s Cities. Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities 2010 United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

28

29


Eco-helpers the Unspoken Heros Man segregating waste, Philippines


Waste transportation truck, Thailand

30

31


Khoai village plastic waste collection

Street

Waste collection at night using hand cart

Collection

Collection Points for household waste

Modern and old technique of waste collection


Typical Yard and Street Waste collection

Using

Push

Cart

Typical street waste collection, Vietnam

32

33


Medical Waste collection Red Bags

Medical Waste collection and disposal at incinerator, Bangkok, Thailand


wood-based products, , 6%

34

glass , 2%

polythene and plastic, 6%

paper , 6.50%

Biodegradable waste, , 62%

Compactor trucks collection

Street Collection Street sweeping is one of the major activities involved in the waste management system employed in Asia. Typically streets are swept by government employed personnel and accumulated at the street corners. Later on, municipal truck hulls the waste to a landfill.

Yard waste collection

35


All gets affected !

Open dumping, Pollonnaruwa, Sri Lanka


Do You Know Me

t c e l l e t o I C Was r u Yo By

d n

a H

Man collecting waste, Philippines

36

?


37

e m d n Se r u Yo h s a Tr Door to door collection rikshaw

! e r e l H l A s ’ t a h T

Customer choice 1 - Door to Door Collection

p Or Shall I dum post N e a r t h e s ig n

! y a r r Hu Food Roadside dumping

“ N o D u m p in g

Customer choice 2 - open dump

?“


Scavengers Or Eco-helpers

You Decide ?

Informal sector at work: waste segregation at landfill, India

38

39


Separate the Trash

Cloths separation for reuse by informal sector for personal use, India


40

Handcart waste collection

Trash collection with bicycle

Push cart waste collection

Hand pulled garbage bin

Tractor pulled garbage bin

Medical waste collection truck

Motorcycle waste collection

Garbage truck

Compactor truck

41


Asia gets global supports as vehicles / machinery for SWM but mostly due to complex Asian city structure and rapid wear and tear of the equipment, soon these foreign donations become metal wastes themselves.

Chinese donated collection vehicle to Kathmandu metropolitan office, Nepal


Closed collection vehicle, Nepal

42

43


Collection Truck, India


Waste loading for landfilling, Nepal

44

45


Faecal sludge collection truck, India


Modern collection vehicle, Nepal

Tractor for cardboard collection, Sri Lanka

Basic to Modern Waste Collection Systems Modern collection vehicle, Sri Lanka

46

47


Waste cart, Vietnam


Modified motorcycle to collect recyclable material, Vietnam

48

49


Closed collection vehicle, Afghanistan


Covered collection tractor, India

50


51

W

aste Treatment, and Disposal

Chapter 3 | Waste treatment and disposal

Metal can

Melting

Aluminium recycling

In developing world, open dumping and unsanitary landfilling is still the prevalent form of waste disposal. With large proportion of municipal waste management budget being spent on collection alone, very few resources are left for waste treatment and proper disposal. Only about 10% of solid waste ends up in properly engineered and managed landfill sites in Asia. Most disposal sites are not scientifically engineered hence do not meet even basic environmental standards. These poorly maintained landfill sites are prone to environmental damages mainly due to Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and leachate contamination, and landfill accidents. The cost of landfilling ranges from USD 5/tonnes and USD 25/ tonnes for low-income countries and between USD 15/tonnes and $30/tonnes for middle-income countries (ADB, 2011). With land scarcity, increased land price, and increased cost of waste collection, transfer and transportation, the traditional approach of disposing waste into a landfill remains no more a cheap and sustainable option. Considering not only the economics of the waste disposal in landfills, but also the environmental externalities, waste disposal is the last option of waste management hierarchy. Therefore, reducing the waste generation, and diverting bulk volume of waste before reaching to the landfill site through resource recovery systems is the way forward to sustainable waste management. Asian waste management strategies are also being inclusive of waste treatment and recovery options such as composting and/ or (an)aerobic digestion of organic waste, inclination towards paper, plastic, metal and glass recycling, landfill gas capture projects, landfill mining etc. To reduce the waste load to landfill, appropriate investment in terms of technology and skill is required. For which, the participation from private sector is essential. Similarly, without public private partnership it is difficult to successfully run the recycling units at its designed capacity and with profit. Therefore, for a successful waste recovery, treatment and disposal all the stakeholders have to contribute with their respective support. Asian Development Bank., (2011). Toward Sustainable Municipal Organic Waste Management in South Asia: A Guidebook for Policy Makers and Practitioners. Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

52


53

Organic waste

Composting

Preparing and mixing wastes for composting, Sri Lanka


54

Matured compost from the composting plant

Matale composting unit

Ventilation unit used while composting

55


Conveyor belt set at composting plant, Thailand


Infectious waste

Incineration Infectious waste incineration at a hospital, Afghanistan

56


57

Biomethanation Vegetable waste taken for methanation

Stocking waste for feeding

Vegetable waste collection unit


58

Conveyor for transporting vegetable to shredder

Methanation reactor

Shredding process


59

Styroplastic recycling plant

Plastic to Pavement

Plastic material used as raw material

Plastic shredder

Melting unit for shredded plastic

Melted plastic to make pavements


Pilot Scale Plastic Recycling Unit

Styroplastic recycling unit, Philippines

60


61

Metal Recycling

Recyclable metal being transferred to recycling factory, Vietnam


Cutting scrap metal for recycling

62

Remelted metal sheet

Metal Recovery/ Recycling in

Can metal melting

63


Recycle Metal

Melting & Recasting

Melted and recasted Aluminium metal after recycling, Vietnam


Recycle P

lastic

Melting &

Recasting

Shredding plastics to make pellets, Vietnam

64


65

Modern Plastic Recycling Facility in Feeding plastic into the machine

Recycling machine

Final plastic master batches


Cardboard recycling and shredding to create recycled paper

66

67


Recycled paper rolls, Thailand


68

Plastic shredder

Final plastic master batches

Melting of shreded plastic

Plastic Recycling Plant

69


Fluorescent Lamp Recycling

Fluorescent recycling technology,Phillips Electronics, Thailand


Plastic to Oil

Rayong-plastic to oil plant, Thailand

70

71


Disposal

Hazardous Waste

Industrial Hazardous Waste (Solvent) Recycling- Recycle Enginerring Co., Ltd, Thailand


Medical Waste Incineration

Hazardous medical waste incineration plant

Hazardous medical waste disposal

72


73

Philippines

Combined Waste Disposal Combined municipal waste disposal, Philippines


Landfill Methane

Recovery Methane recovery from old landfill, Philippines

74

75


Hazardous Waste

Incineration

Open burning, Vietnam


Solid waste landfill and leachate treatment, MBT Penang, Malaysia

76

77


Landfill gas recovery, Phuoc Hiep , Vietnam


Vietstar Lemna Eco Centre, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

78

79


Solid waste transfer station, Bangkok, Thailand


Leachate plant, Hanoi

Leachate Stabilization Pond

80

Leachate pond Jantho landfill, Besar Indonesia

Leachate-ponds, Sabang, Aceh Indonesia

81


Landfill at Vientiane municipality, Lao PDR


Construction of landfill gas capture Phuoc Hiep, Vietnam

82


83

Unloading the waste

Kids in the scavenging at landfill

Man scavenging

Open burning of medical waste


A typical junk shop dealer, Nepal

84

85


Urban council operated junk shop, Balangoda, Sri Lanka


Treatment pond night soil effluent, Banda-Aceh, Indonesia

86

87


Open burning at the landfill site, Vietnam


Landfill at Vientiane municipality, Lao PDR

88


89

3R

Initiatives

Chapter 3 | 3R Initiatives

Reduce Reuse and Recycle (3R) is the core of an integrated waste management system. 3R offers best strategies to minimize waste by encouraging sustainable consumption of resources (reduce), maximum use of goods and materials until it wears out or can’t be repaired or fixed (reuse), and reprocess the materials into new products rather than discarding (recycle). Reduction, reuse and recycling & recovery of waste conserves valuable resources and contributes to a decrease in collection, treatment and disposal effects(equivalent to reduction in GHG emissions, cost savings by the collection; a reduction in treatment saving energy and costs, increasing landfill life span, generating business opportunities). 3R hence remains a suitable potential but yet largely untapped areas of waste management for reducing the pressure on landfills and creating economic and environmental benefits. In Asia, Japan coined the concept of 3R’s. It was launched the 3R Initiative at the 3R Ministerial Conference hosted by the Government of Japan in April 2005, with an aim to promote global action on 3R. Now, Asian region is promoting 3Rs for circular economy by putting waste into resource chain as secondary resource materials. Sustainable industrial model, where the business is promoted to use eco-marketing. This results in changing the consumption pattern and lifestyle on the end user redirecting the waste streams to recycling. Finally the recycled products can be used as resource for the business. Thus is the pathway trusted for gaining green growth. At individual scale, 3Rs are associated with sustainable consumption and design for environment concepts, hence reducing the waste generation (minimum packaging design), reusing habits (re-fillers than buying the new products with packaging), and waste exchange/take back system for recycling. 3R aims at a paradigm shift from waste as ‘nuisance’ to ‘resource’ from the waste using three basic habits of reduction, reuse and recycling, leaving a very minimum waste load to be disposed at sanitary landfills. Waste to energy recovery options are also preferred to acquire energy from waste those are not recyclables than disposing off in the landfills. But, successful 3R adoption requires facilitative regulatory measures for promotion of 3Rs, provision of economic incentives, financial mechanisms, appropaite recycling technologies and skills, effective partnership with relevant stakeholders, and the strong public participation. Sustainable waste management through 3R approach is gaining a momentum in Asia. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are group of developing Asian countries that are systematically planning to achieve better waste management through progressive policies and plans. Cambodia and Laos are also the aspiring nations looking forward to proactive policies on waste management. Japan, Korea, Singapore are the countries that have been successful in implementing 3R approaches to sustainable solid waste management through direct legislations, technologies and capacities enabling the 3R activities.

90

91


Compacting cans for recycling, Afghanistan


Great men at work Reuse E-waste (mobile phones) recycling, Afghanistan

92

93


Re-use You trash, I pick

Trash for someone is treasure for another, Afghanistan


School garbage bank , Thailand

94

95


Reusing Tyre Afghan man reusing tyre parts


96

Recycle Tin Cans

Compressing cans for recycling, Afghanisthan


97

Would you

Re-use This ?

I Would

Man scavenging food from landfill, Afghanistan

ChapterChapter 3 | Waste3treatment | 3R Initiatives and disposal

Plastic and paper recycled crafts, Thailand

98

99


Conclusions

Chapter 5 | Conclusions

Compacting filling waste landfill. Chonburi, Thailand

100

101


Cleaning plastic for recycling, Hue, Vietnam


Organic waste Composting. Chonburi, Thailand

102

103


Recycled product shop, Kilus Foundation, Ugong, Philippines


Asia

Walking on 3R Path

Asia is facing severe challenges as well as opportunities with the swiftly increasing waste volume and diversified waste streams. Apart from MSW, new waste streams such as E-Waste, healthcare waste, plastic waste, Construction & Demolition waste, and household hazardous waste are emerging too. This has increased the risks of public and environmental hazards threatening the sustainability of the region and its economies. However, at the same time such growing waste volume and diversity in Asia, opens an array of 3R business opportunities, mainly in the recycling sector. Resource value of the waste has always been the driver for recycling, along with which, recycling offers a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits. Currently, developing Asian countries are under the realization to use for proper waste management approaches such as integrated solid waste management (ISWM) systems. This has hence shifted the paradigm from waste as only nuisance to “resources.” This shift from “waste management” to “resource management” perceives waste as lucrative employment and business opportunities. Alternate models of growth that decouples economic growth from excessive use of resources and minimizes generation and disposal of waste should be the strategy to be adopted. 3Rs should frame the key elements of such strategies. Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM), Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), and Sound Material Cycle (SMC) are the supportive concepts setting up the overall direction and priorities for promotion of 3Rs in Asia. Developing Asian countries have prodigious opportunities for adopting technologies and managerial strategies to improve resource and energy efficiency. To maximize such opportunities, policy makers should prepare a facilitative background that favors 3R technology transfer and practices. National and local governments should develop strengthening environmental (waste management) policies, and strong institutional frameworks to ensure enforcement of those policies. An appropriate mix of enabling policy environment from the government, private sectors’ investment, meaningful participation from the community is what is required to actually turn the Asian garbage into ‘The Great Garbage of Asia’.

Recycled plastic pavement blocks, Philippines

104