RBE Yinchaun Conference

From APEC HRDWG Wiki

The Recycling-Based-Economy (RBE) Pattaya Symposium was a part of the APEC project, Capacity Building for a Recycling-based Economy (RBE) in APEC. This project was proposed by the APEC Human Resource Development Working Group'sCapacity Building Network. This project aimed to start the challenging task of establishing an APEC-wide system for sustainable development through identifying issues and challenges of implementing the 3 R's (Reuse, Reduce & Recycle), sharing best practices of recycling systems used in selected industries, and establishing a network of experts to continue to share information and build a workable RBE system in APEC.

Resources from the conference:

Title	Summary
Waste Recycling, Experience and Trends in Developed and Developing Countries	Insofar as developing countries are concerned, the high level of organics in the waste stream has allowed significant levels of compost, a soil additive, to be generated. Equally important to success in waste recycling are the existing successes that are removing other elements of the waste stream.
Presentation (in Chinese) by Dr. Cai Rang	Chinese language PowerPoint presentation.
Towards Building a Sustainable Global Society Based on 3Rs	Annually, Japan consumes about 2.1 billion tons of resources including energy. We recycle about 10% of the total consumption and finally landfill about 53 million tons. Our macro goal is: to improve the efficiency of resource use, which is measured by GDP divided by used amount of virgin resources. Our goal is to improve this rate by 40% in 2010 compared with 2000, to improve recycling rates from 10% in 2000 to 14% in 2010, and to reduce final landfill amount by half from 2000 to 2010.
Current Status of Recycling-based Economy in APEC and Policy Options	The term of sound material-cycle society “Xun Huan Jing Ji” in Chinese has a broad sense. It includes energy conservation, water resource conservation, recycling of waste, and so forth. In the effort to establish Sound Material-Cycle Economy of China, energy and water conservation are more emphasized than recycling. In developed countries including Japan, industrial sectors invested in saving energy and water since the 1960s.
Asian Response to Resource and Environmental Limitations	At the beginning of the 21st century, we are at a crossroads as we face limits to resources and the environment. The Asian region and, in particular, the dramatic growth of the Chinese economy, raise the challenge of how sustainable development can be achieved in the years to come.
Toward a Recycling-Based Economy	In the 1990’s, the export of electronics products from East Asia increased three-fold reaching US$ 120 billion. The production share of electronics products in Asia has reached 5 percent in the world, which has brought about a disparity of consumption sites and production sites. This increase in production is causing new challenges from the viewpoint of the environment as well. Request for establishing a recycling–based economy has emerged. Under this condition, in order to promote a Recycling Based Economy, we have to create new regional cooperation, where the collected products, recyclable parts and accessories, and materials are smoothly traded. We need new rules that make the new trade proceed smoothly. This is the reason why we as ABAC (APEC BusiZealand Newness Advisory Council) proposed the Recycle Based Economy in 2003.
Presentation (in Chinese) by Dr. Johnny Chai	Chinese language PowerPoint presentation.
Development of a Recycling Based Economy in New Zealand	New Zealand has a land area of approximately 268,000 square kilometres, with a population of approximately 4 million people. New Zealand’s landscape is dominated by mountain ranges and hill country. Approximately one third of the population is located in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.