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View all search resultsASEAN’s path to energy resilience is a circular economy
We need a new model. One that reduces material waste and lowers energy waste, while creating economic value – a circular economy.
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A worker sorts used plastic water bottles on April 17, 2026, at the Samici main waste bank in Cimahi, West Java. (Antara/Abdan Syakura)
S
outheast Asia is in a bind. We’re facing multiple crises at once – an energy squeeze, rising costs and supply chain disruptions.
Governments are focused on firefighting, and rightly so. But it is also important to look beyond the horizon – how do we make sure this doesn’t happen again?
This convergence of crises has revealed a deeper vulnerability: ASEAN’s continued dependence on resource- and energy-intensive systems. We extract, produce and discard at scale – and at tremendous cost.
Take plastic waste. Every year, over 31 million tonnes of plastic waste is generated in Southeast Asia alone. By rough estimates, it takes around 600 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy to produce that much plastic – about 10 per cent of the region’s yearly energy use. If all that plastic were recycled, we could save up to 500 billion kWh – enough to power hundreds of millions of homes.
We need a new model. One that reduces material waste and lowers energy waste, while creating economic value – a circular economy. And it all starts with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
EPR holds producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products. That includes managing and treating waste after consumers have bought and used their goods. The idea is to turn waste into usable material and feed it back into the economy.
Governments recognize its value and are acting on it. Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have either implemented or are developing EPR laws. ASEAN itself has adopted a Framework for Circular Economy as part of its economic strategy.
