US NGO The Circulate Initiative (New York, New York; www.thecirculateinitiative.org) said a shift towards additional plastics recycling in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam would lower global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from waste plastics by up to one-tenth by 2030.

Using the group’s plastics lifecycle assessment calculator, a recent report, titled The climate benefits of plastic waste management in India and Southeast Asia, is said to illustrate how investing in proper plastics waste management and recycling can significantly reduce carbon emissions. 

According to the research, recycling all mismanaged plastics waste in these markets could cut emissions by 229 mn t by 2030, the equivalent of closing 61 coal-fired power plants for a year. Across the six countries, mismanaged plastics waste ranges from about 50% to 75% of that which is formally managed, the group estimated. If this mismanaged waste was diverted towards recycling, the countries could cut their combined emissions by 38 mn t of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e), the report said. 

India was said to have the highest plastics recycling rate at 41%, with Indonesia home to the lowest (rate not disclosed). While further investments to scale up the system in India would make a significant difference, a substantial rise in recycling capacity and the reduction of open burning is necessary to reduce the countries’ carbon footprint, the NGO said.

Open burning, common in countries lacking sufficient municipal solid waste (MSW) systems, offers cheap and quick disposal. Across the six countries, between 4% and 48% of total plastics waste is open burned, which contributes between 24% and 94% of the waste’s total carbon footprint, with the latter number said to be the case for Indonesia. 

In addition, incineration and waste-to-energy (WtE) approaches could also result in 20 mn t of carbon emissions in 2030. According to the initiative, about 100 plants with a total processing capacity of 102,000 t/d of municipal solid waste are either already running or expected to go online in the next few years. 

In 2030, if assuming business as usual for the current end-of-life mix, the countries could contribute 21 mn t of the estimated 238 mn t of CO₂e from waste plastics globally. But the NGO said a shift to recycling – based on targets set by the six governments – could avert 2 mn t of CO₂e.

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Investing in effective waste management and plastics recycling would make substantial contributions to the fight against climate change, the initiative said, adding that the waste and recycling industry “presents a new frontier of opportunities for climate-focused investors”.