‘Circular economy’: Country can generate $1.2bn by utilising plastic waste

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan can easily generate $1.2 billion annually through utilising plastic waste which has the potential to generate thousands of job opportunities and can become a whole business in the country.

This was the crux of a lecture jointly organised by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and the World Bank (WB) titled, “Introduction to the Circular Economy”, here on Friday.

Speaking on the topic, Charles Schneider, senior private sector specialist World Bank said that the circular economy opportunities can be found in nearly every sector - the plastics, fashion, and food sectors stand out as some of the most likely to be impacted. He said that out of the total market of $1.2 billion of plastic waste only $144 million which is just 15 percent of the total plastic waste is being utilised while rest 85 percent is simply not utilised.

He said that other than plastic waste there are various other sectors just like agriculture waste which has the potential to significantly contribute to the economy, adding that developed countries are fully taping such opportunities while Pakistan-like countries are not utilising it.

Schneider while introducing the concept said that circular economy (CE) is an economic model to minimise waste and make most of resources. Unlike the traditional linear economy, which follows the “take, make, dispose” model of production, the circular economy is regenerative by design and aims to keep products, equipment and infrastructure in use for longer.

Pakistan’s gigantic annual waste production of 50 million metric tons of waste per year is an untapped opportunity to promote waste-to-resource sustainable practices to kick start a circular economy providing lucrative livelihood opportunities to innovative youth of the country seeking employment.

He said that in first step the government of Pakistan should take first step in taking the benefit of the potential opportunities, adding that later private sector should also invite to explore the opportunities.

Historically, consumers have followed a linear model of value creation that begins with the extraction of raw materials and concludes with the end-of-life disposal of finished products.

Build economies are still in the early stages of legislative development. “End-of-pipe” measures such as waste and recycling regulations dominate the discourse with momentum building towards “Extended Producer Responsibility”.

Most of the key policy, legislative, and regulatory instruments for enabling circularity are missing in Pakistan. When compared with global better practices, the current regulatory environment inadequately incentivises investments in CE.

The waste collection value chain in Pakistan is highly informal and fragmented. Though dry recyclables are mostly collected through the informal value chain in larger cities, most of the waste ends up in landfills/open dumping sites

The participants were informed that 35 percent of Islamabad residents and only 10.3 percent of Lahore engage in waste segregation for economic reasons, involving the sale of recyclables to local scrap-yards. According to a research report titled “Waste as Resource: Case Study of Lahore and Islamabad” brings to light the pressing issue of waste management in Pakistan, unveiling an annual production of approximately 50 million metric tons and emphasizing the imperative to embrace sustainable practices.

The findings underscore a clear call for municipal intervention, with residents expressing strong support for waste segregation at the household level if facilitated by the municipality through a multiple-bin system. The research was done by the Institute of Urbanism and findings were presented by Ayesha Majid. It revealed significant disparities in waste segregation practices.

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