Recycling2022-09-07T10:01:31+07:00

RECYCLING

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Design for Recycling

A new trend in the global effort to tackle marine plastic debris is design for recycling, which is designing a recyclable product using recycled materials instead of virgin materials (Maris et al., 2014). Japan leads the design-for-recycling initiative across ASEAN+3 countries. In 1992, the Council for PET Bottle Recycling in Japan issued a guideline on designing a recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle. Revised several times, the guideline contains basic requirements for different components in the manufacture of PET bottles. These requirements make recycling easier, for example by using materials with less than 1.0 specific gravity to make labels and caps to

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Eco-Industrial Park

The eco-industrial park concept relates to industrial ecology, a field developed at the beginning of the 1990s by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The concept recognises that industrial collaboration yields better economic, environmental, and social performance than industries acting independently (Veiga et al., 2004). The concept aims to create in a common property a community of manufacturing and service businesses that can collaborate on managing environmental issues in a resource-efficient way. Japan, China, and Singapore have been at the forefront of developing the eco-industrial park concept, inspiring other ASEAN countries. 1. Kitakyushu Eco-Town Kitakyushu’s industries led modernisation in

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Eco-labelling

Certain companies label their products ‘eco-friendly’, ‘recyclable’, and ‘save energy’, which, however, has confused consumers. Some types of environmental performance labelling – including eco-labelling – have, therefore, been standardised using criteria to ensure credibility and impartiality. As environmental performance labelling, eco-labelling is useful for governments in encouraging sound environmental practices and for businesses in identifying and establishing markets for their environmentally preferable products (GEN, 2004). Of the three types of environmental labelling under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), eco-labelling is classified as Type I, which, in ISO 12024,  is awarded in the form of a mark or logo

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Economic Incentives for Recycling Industries

Economic incentives are essential to the rapid growth of recycling industries. Incentives should steer economic activity in a direction that causes less environmental impact, encourage consumers to switch to cheaper eco-friendly products, and stimulate production of eco-friendly products through tax reduction (OECD, 2014). Depending on their needs and situation, some ASEAN+3 countries have adopted different approaches to offering economic incentives. Indonesia aims to give recycling industries fiscal incentives, such as lowering the value-added tax (VAT) from 10% to 5% for recycling businesses. However, this scheme faces a challenge due to its indirect effect on profit. Since VAT will mainly

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Extended Producer Responsibility

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is the responsibility of producers who design and market products for end-of-life treatment (Akenji et al., 2011). EPR has been applied to different products, notably packaging materials, vehicles, and electrical and electronic equipment. Policymakers apply EPR using four instruments: (1) product take-back requirements; (2) economic and market-based instruments such as deposit–refund schemes, advanced disposal fee, material taxes, and upstream combination tax or subsidy that incentivises producers to comply with EPR; (3) regulations and performance standards such as minimum recycled content; and (4) accompanying information-based instruments such as raising public awareness (OECD, 2014). In Japan, the Act

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Green Procurement

Green procurement is the purchase of products, services, and works that cause minimal environmental impacts. It can contribute to local, regional, national, and international sustainability and enhance cost-effective use, maintenance, and final disposal of products; lower the cost of water and energy; and help attain environmental targets, such as reduction of environmental impacts and promotion of sustainable production (European Union, 2016; APEC Committee on Trade and Investment, 2013). Life-cycle approach is fundamental in green procurement because it helps measuring environmental performance of a whole process, including production, transportation, procurement, and disposal. Governments and market/industry control the success of green procurement. Government

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