Plastic waste volume per capita APAC 2024, by country
In 2024, the per capita plastic waste volume in Hong Kong was estimated to amount to around 121 kilograms. Singapore had the second-highest per capita plastic waste volume in the Asia-Pacific region that year, an estimated 87 kilograms.
Waste production and waste trade
Plastic waste is a global issue, with plastic waste generation projected to triple by 2060. Currently, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for over half of the global production of plastic materials. In addition to locally generated plastic waste in the region, many countries in South and Southeast Asia are major destinations for plastic waste exports from Europe and the United States. Malaysia and Vietnam in particular import the highest volume of plastic waste among Asia-Pacific countries.
How to deal with waste?
Next to the sheer volume of plastics and plastic waste in the region, inadequate collection and processing infrastructures of waste are the main drivers of plastic pollution in many APAC countries. For example, while India's official per-capita waste generation is below the global average, this number is estimated to be significantly higher. The discrepancy stems from a lack of waste collection and a booming informal sector, leading to almost half of the generated plastic waste in India being mismanaged in its treatment. Countries like Japan and South Korea are also still generating large amounts of single plastics and are seeking to tackle the issue of managing the waste volume. Efforts of the countries’ respective governments have led to increasing recycling rates over the last couple of years, with both countries currently positioned at the lower end of the Mismanaged Waste Index for plastic in the Asia-Pacific region.
