Singapore, the US, Hong Kong and other developed economies lead the pack in waste. What will we do when the rest of the world catches up?

China’s ban on imported waste in 2018 was not welcomed by the rest of the world, but it now appears to be a blessing

Developed countries must learn how to deal with their own waste, primarily by seeing it all as a resource to be recovered

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Recycling bins in Wan Chai overflow as protesters march against the extradition bill on June 9. Hong Kong is a world leader in waste produced per capita. Photo: Edmond So

David Dodwell is CEO of the trade policy and international relations consultancy Strategic Access, focused on developments and challenges facing the Asia-Pacific over the past four decades.

Published: 2:00am, 14 Sep 2019Updated: 2:29am, 14 Sep 2019

Eugene Sullivan, who heads the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) infrastructure and natural resources investment programme in North Asia, knows a lot about waste management projects.

The IFC supports US$14 billion-worth of infrastructure projects across the world. And his warning is stark: “When per capita waste-production in the developing world reaches Western levels, we are in real trouble.”

Here in Hong Kong, we are already in trouble, with too much waste being dumped, and a limited scope for new landfills.

With solid waste per capita at 2.14kg per day, according to the World Bank’s 2018 publication “What a Waste”, we are among the world’s most wasteful consumers, up there with the United States at 2.24kg. Only Singaporeans put us all in the shade, throwing out 3.72kg of waste per day.

But look at China, where people throw out just 0.43kg per day, or Vietnam (0.33kg), and it is clear that as poor countries catch our profligate ways, future waste challenges are going to be daunting. The World Bank says total waste of 2.01 billion tonnes in 2016 will rise to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050, with much of this in East Asia.

Such is the anxiety about the uncontrolled explosion of waste that, in Apec, we have been trying to get better waste management infrastructure in place for more than a decade.