Zero Waste Solutions towards a Regenerative Asia-Pacific Region

Published on February 4, 2022
March 26
3:00 AM to 4:30 AM UTC

Production and consumption in Asia and the Pacific are outpacing the renewal capacity of natural resources and the capability of local governments in managing their waste. The Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2020 (UN, 2020) highlights how the region remains unlikely to meet any of the 17 Goals by 2030 at its current pace and that responsible consumption and production (Goal 12) and climate actions (Goal 13) are even moving in the wrong direction. New thinking, values and approaches are essential to 1) move from a linear, "one-way" economy to a closed-loop-economy which reduces, reuses and recycles wastes, and 2) design post-COVID societies that support a sustainable and resilient recovery while accelerating implementation of the SDGs in the region. Even though there is no single solution to this situation, some communities have demonstrated that Zero Waste Cities are economically sound and effective solutions to waste problems, while also bringing significant economic, social and environmental benefits through a combination of source separation, banning single-use plastics, and encouraging public engagement. As a side event of The Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) 2021, this session therefore aimed to discuss how to develop and implement zero waste cities, policies, plans and strategies through peer learning and opportunities to strengthen linkages between local, national, regional and global actors. These discussions also illustrated lessons for financial institutions, policymakers and civil society for accelerating transformations to implement the 2030 Agenda while recovering sustainably from COVID-19.

Waste management remains a notable challenge in the region in achieving sustainable consumption and production as it requires holistic and cross-sector approaches. Even though there is no single solution for all, several cities and communities have demonstrated that Zero Waste systems are economically sound and effective solutions to waste problems while bringing significant economic, social and environmental benefits through combined source separation, banning single-use plastics, and encouraging public engagement. These models illustrate lessons for financial institutions, policymakers and civil society for accelerating transformations for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda while recovering sustainably from COVID-19.

The Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) is an annual and inclusive intergovernmental forum and a regional platform for supporting countries, in particular those with special needs, in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development while serving as a regional preparatory meeting to the high-level political forum. APFSD provides a regional perspective on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by identifying regional trends and consolidating and sharing best practices and lessons learned. The Forum takes into consideration the contributions of United Nations system bodies (at the regional level), other regional and sub-regional organizations, and relevant stakeholders. The APFSD also supports follow-up and review of progress on the 2030 Agenda at the regional level. In 2021, the theme of the APFSD is “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and the Pacific”.