ABAC is a Business Advisory Council for APEC economics. APEC (Asia Pacific Cooperation) is a multilateral organisation consisting of 21-member economies. APEC was established in 1989 to further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community. Since its inception, APEC has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region.

The 2020 ABAC-RMIT Research Project will deliver research and analysis in support of the themes proposed by APEC Malaysia which identified 'Innovative Waste Management through Circular Economy' as one of its key priorities. APEC Leaders have raised the importance of waste management and efficient management of resources in their Declarations in 2015, 2016 and 2017. However, the issue of e-waste has not yet received adequate attention from policy makers in APEC.

Research Project Context:

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest growing trash streams globally. In 2018, roughly 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste were generated with only 20% recycled/re-used through appropriate channels. In many cases, informal processing of e-waste poses significant health and environmental hazards especially in developing economies. The impending boom in connected 'internet-of-things' (IoT) devices will add further pressure on already stretched systems.

At the same time, e-waste presents an opportunity for businesses to recover expensive and scarce resources such as precious metals, rare earths and other critical materials. It is estimated that e-waste is worth $62.5 Billion annually, three times more than the annual output of the world's silver mines. However current technologies, business models and policy frameworks are not well adapted to enable the recovery of these resources.

The concept of a Circular Economy has gained traction as a way of developing a holistic, system-wide approach to the issue of waste, recycling and sustainable development. It encompasses much more than just recycling by addressing the entire lifecycle of devices. Designers, manufacturers, investors, traders, miners, consumers, policy makers and others will all have a role to play.

utilise circular economy concepts to generate recommendations for APEC economies on addressing e-waste and thereby help contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Question:

International Co-operation:

• How can public private partnerships drive change? Provide examples.

provide examples through research on Australia using Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for infrastructure and recommendation for future improvement - how can some of these ideas implemented in Indonesia.