I remember vividly the first time the concept of circular economies was brought to my awareness. The professor Conny Bakker was seated in front of the tiniest lecture hall in the department of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. "Waste is design gone wrong," Bakker told us. It was the department's (probably that of the University's) first class on circular design for products - which was offered as a one-time option to a small group of undergraduate students. The circular economy appeared to be precisely the concept I had been wishing for. It gave the...

For a lot of us, 2020 was an event that was delayed because the world's attention was changed to the crucial task of fighting the COVID-19 epidemic. However, other pressing global issues did not rest, and we slipped into the most pressing issues, like the impact of plastics on climate change and pollution. During this period, the recycling and management of the waste value chains within South and Southeast Asia ground to a stop, and the use of virgin and single-use plastics skyrocketed. Research has shown that during the pandemic's peak, more than 80 percent of the recycling value chain...

As much as US$995 billion in funds need to be sourced between 2022 and 2040 to ensure that circular supply chains can meet world demands for plastics. The massive need for financing has been a subject of discussion in the ongoing negotiations in the legally binding document to curb pollution caused by plastic. We know that investments in interventions across the entire value chain of plastics are essential to bring about systemic transformation. But the uncertainty and perceived risk when investing in circular economy innovation, especially in emerging markets - have been a reason for many investors to stay off...

Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) and Merry Year Social Company ( MYSC) have launched their USD 1 million Digital Transformation Fund in 2021 with the help of Google.org, Google's charity arm. The Fund will support non-profit organizations operating in South Korea to support underserved communities, including small and medium-sized business owners and job seekers affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. In 2022 five subgrantees were chosen to receive the grant, as well AVPN and MYSC have launched an impact series in which they tell the stories of these subgrantees. In this first article we were able to talk with Byung Hun Hyung Chul and...

BLOG CLIMATE, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECT OUR PLANET FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION: 5 THINGS TO KNOW Female workers sort out plastic bottles for recycling in a factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. If plastic production stays on its current trajectory, by 2030, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could reach 1.34 billion tons per year. Photo: Abir Abdullah/Climate Visuals Plastics are contaminating our planet and are choking our oceans, causing harm to the health of humans and destroying ecosystems that are vital to our survival. The UN Environment Programme is raising the alarm over the severity of the global problem with plastics and highlighting the plethora...

The waste reduction is likely to produce other outcomes, which could be equally significant. Employee productivity could rise due to the specific waste reduction strategy, and product quality could be affected by another factor. There are benefits, costs,, and restrictions particular to each site waste reduction that can only partially forecasted. The effectiveness of waste reduction is a part of the whole production system in which it is carried out. Waste reduction is vast and difficult to evaluate in depth. Some activities are often linked to technology evaluation, and cannot be easily carried out to reduce waste. These include: * Forecasting, estimating...

Demand for material is rising as is the environmental harm that comes with the extraction of materials, transport for processing and the management of waste. Although many people claim they are recycling at home, the adoption of environmentally sustainable waste practices in the workplace or in other situations (particularly during holidays) is usually more limited. The ability to create sustainable practices (including, but not only expanding beyond recycling) across a variety of settings remains a major issue for researchers and policy makers. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been applied to a range of environmentally-friendly behaviors but the relative...

Within the hamlets of Bali, the people are working in harmony to combat the issue of garbage to keep their island free of overflowing landfills. Indonesia is fighting plastic waste pollution and an environmental crisis, But what if 80 % of the waste could be reused instead of ending up in a landfill? In Bali, an organization that is not for profit has demonstrated that this is possible by visiting villages through their Merah Putih Hijau (MPH) program. It is the MPH solution, created by an environmental NGO Bumi Sasmaya Foundation, that aims to address the root of the problem of...

The city of Karaikal, India, a giant garbage problem is threatening the ecosystem and its inhabitants. To tackle this issue, a grassroots organization is trying to alter the old ways of life. Karaikal's broken-down past For a long time, Karaikal, a seaside town along the southern coast of India, was plagued by a trash crisis in its hands. Insufficient waste management system saw trash scattered throughout the landscape. This is a problem that is common in cities across India too. The pollution affects the environment and the residents who reside in the area. "People collecting rubbish in plastic bags and throwing...

In Singapore, a community works to reduce waste by helping people to repair their broken items. Every last Sunday of the month, people from all walks of life in Singapore come together at a Repair Kopitiam event, bringing with them their malfunctioning toasters, broken fans, and other faulty home appliances, hoping to give these household items a new lease on life. But this event is more than just a simple fix-it session. It is a mission to create a sustainable world. Repair Kopitiam wants to get Singaporeans to reset their behavior by fixing what's broken instead of just throwing it...