The region’s per-capita burden is low but its recycling laws cannot handle the sheer volume of junked phones and fridges. Globally, improperly discarded gadgets, including solar panels, add to a mounting health and environmental crisis.
Multinational consumer goods brands have gone cold on recycled plastic – now priced higher than virgin – and look likely to miss their 2025 recycling targets. Recyclers in Asia are suffering as a result, particularly waste pickers at the vulnerable end of the value chain.
The prevalence of a "sachet economy" is stretching waste management capabilities in the country. Lawmakers are suggesting an amendment of the current Extended Producer Responsibility Act to expand its coverage to include medium-sized firms.
Industrial-scale deep-sea mining has not been green-lit after negotiations over the rules for extraction stalled. A new study finds that repairing the seabed after mining it could cost up to US$5.7 million per square kilometre.