The more successful a tourist island becomes, the more waste it often has to manage. That's one of the central ideas behind a new report titled Pathways Towards Circularity: The Zero Waste Islands Framework, from GAIA Asia Pacific, which argues that many island destinations are trapped in an extractive cycle. Products are imported, consumed, and discarded, while local communities are left to deal with the environmental and financial costs. The report proposes a different path, one built around zero waste principles, local resource management, and community-led solutions, with many solutions for Malaysia too. We discuss this with Ambily Adithyan, Regional Zero Waste Cities Officer with GAIA Asia Pacific, who also shares successful case studies from around the world, where communities significantly reduced waste and improved resource management, and without the use of expensive “fixes” like waste-to-energy incineration projects.

Image Credit: Zero Waste Asia Facebook