EXPLORING THE CIRCULAR SUPPLY CHAIN TO REDUCE PLASTIC WASTE IN SINGAPORE

Background: The COVID-19 changes our lifestyle and triggers the rapid development of online shopping resulting in massive use of plastic for packaging for each parcel. Hence, plastic waste management has become a worrying concern in some countries. This research proposes that the circular supply chain could be a way to reduce plastic waste with regards to the triple bottom line: economy, social, and environment. It applies the life-cycle assessment (LCA) and target sampling method.

Methods: The data about plastic waste, including the production, consumption, and the end-of-life stage from target developed countries were collected and analyzed. By comparing practices applied in Germany and South Korea, this research investigates a framework for both the upstream and the downstream through the implementation of the 4R concept: reduce, reuse, recycle, and recovery. 

Results and conclusions: This study provides new insights of the circular supply chain from the perspective of the government, producers, and consumers and call for more attention from the demand perspective (involving more efforts from authorities and consumers) of the plastic industry instead of only concentrating on the supply perspective.