Applying the Circular Economy Model to Urban Waste Management in Singapore and Experiences for Vietnam

DOI

10.2991/aebmr.k.211119.026How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Circular economy model; urban waste management; Singapore; Vietnam

Abstract

In order to effectively implement the circular economy model, we need to address the core issue of waste management. This is the step to put the waste back into the cycle instead of disposing in the traditional way. As the world economy is rapidly growing, many aspects may pose as challenges, especially urbanization, industrialization, and population growth, and urban waste treatment. Poor management of urban waste can cause many consequences for the environment, people’s health and thus affect the whole economy. Therefore, urban waste management according to the circular economy model is an important step. Indeed, it requires close attention and proper implementation to be able to complete the circular cycle of the economy while also effectively solving the problem of urban waste. This paper studies the theoretical foundations for assessing the practicality of urban waste management based on the circular economy model in Singapore, through analyzing the current conditions of Vietnam. This paper collects and analyzes relevant documents and data to synthesize and evaluate the actual situations in Singapore and Vietnam. The objective is to provide lessons for Vietnam in constructing the effective management of urban waste according to the circular economy model.

Research purpose:

This paper initially analyzes the impact of the circular economy model in the specific context of urban waste management in Singapore and Vietnam. In particular, the way that Singapore is applying urban waste management can provide a lesson for Vietnam - a neighboring Southeast Asian country. Although Vietnam is applying four methods to manage waste, they are not effective and have many shortcomings. Learning from Singapore will help Vietnam’s urban waste management become more efficient, superior and leaner. Towards the goal of providing solutions for policymakers on possible measures to effectively make changes to the urban waste management in Vietnam.

Research motivation:

There are many lessons we can derive by studying Singapore’s urban waste management experience. Although rapid growth and industrialization are good signals for Vietnam’s development, they also have many negative impacts on the environment and natural resources. The unsustainable exploitation of natural resources of the linear economy has been causing many consequences for the sustainable development of the country. To solve these problems in the long term, the traditional linear economic model needs to be replaced by a circular economy model, especially in the management and treatment of urban waste. Therefore, studying and adopting experiences in urban waste management from Singapore in a timely manner is the key for Vietnam to solve this existing problem.

Research design, approach and method:

This paper uses the theoretical foundation to assessing the practicality of urban waste management based on the circular economy model in Singapore, through analyzing the current conditions of Vietnam. By collecting and analyzing documents and related data to synthesize to assess the actual situation in Singapore and Vietnam, the paper proposes some lessons for Vietnam to effectively manage urban waste according to the circular economy model. This paper is conducted to collect and analyze information and data on urban waste management in the period of 2016-2020 in Singapore and Vietnam.

Main findings:

Applying a circular economy model to urban waste treatment helps reduce input costs as it is possible to make the most of waste sources, while reducing the amount of waste disposal. This paper clearly shows that Vietnam needs to develop transparent mechanisms and policies in the treatment of urban waste. Besides, Vietnam also needs to strengthen financial resources to provide enough capital, infrastructure and facilitate the development of new technologies. In addition, raising public awareness about urban waste treatment is also extremely necessary to coordinate between people and effectively apply reduce - recycle – reuse procedures.

Practical/managerial implications:

From the analysis of factors related to the waste treatment experiences of Singapore and Vietnam, this paper has proposed several solutions on mechanisms and policies to increase the efficiency of urban waste treatment, thereby building a circular economy model. In practice, the government needs to take measures to regularly check and study all the policies it has put in place to make timely adjustments and ensure effective implementation. Moreover, urban waste management needs to be carried out in the direction of socialization. Therefore, it needs to be widely propagated on the mass media and social networking platforms in Vietnam.

Copyright

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press International B.V.

Open Access

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Dinh Phuong HOA
AU  - Nguyen Huy KHANH
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/12/07
TI  - Applying the Circular Economy Model to Urban Waste Management in Singapore and Experiences for Vietnam
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Challenges: Business Transformation and Circular Economy (ICECH 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 257
EP  - 277
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.211119.026
DO  - 10.2991/aebmr.k.211119.026
ID  - HOA2021
ER  -