When waste becomes wealth

In the race toward a low-carbon future, the circular economy is no longer an environmental idea but an economic imperative

- - (Nina Unlay is a co-founder and editorial director of Sustina, a woman-led organization democratizing sustainability intelligence. A graduate of the Erasmus Mundus Masters Program of Media, Journalism, and Globalization, she previously led the award-winning publications GRID and adobo magazine, and served as culture business partner at Publicis Groupe Philippines. She writes about culture, business, and social issues.)

Part of the sorting and dismantling line for discarded televisions at E&E Recycling. These televisions are sorted and re-cycled into five raw materials: glass, plastic, iron, copper, and aluminum.

In a conference with over 500 circular economy experts, many were baffled and unable to identify a shampoo sachet. Yes, the plastic sachet that any Filipino would recognize. After all, 164 million of them are used every single day in the Philippines.

Anna Reyes, my co-founder and executive director at Sustina, brought a plastic sachet to display during her talk for the “Asia’s Voices” session of the Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable & Hotspot (APCER) in Taiwan.

“Is that a free sample?” people asked. “No, this is the product,” Anna replied, to their disbelief.

Doing some quick math: The Philippines has more than 1,600 cities, over 7,000 islands, and only 237 landfills for millions of sachets. Upwards of $890 million is lost each year because recyclable plastic products are discarded in landfills rather than recycled.

During APCER, Taiwanese officials shared that in 2024, the green-technology industry in Taiwan contributed 2 percent of GDP, or approximately $15 billion in added value.

This isn’t just happening in Taiwan. In the Netherlands, the circular economy has contributed over 4 percent of GDP since 2020; a trend mirrored in Germany and Sweden.