Singapore has topped a study of 75 countries by packaging company Arka, which assessed how effectively countries prevent waste and maximise resource recovery.
The Asian country recorded a Circularity Performance Score of 100 in the study, supported by a municipal recycling rate of 52% and material use of 0.39kg per dollar of GDP.
Best of the rest
In second place was Austria, which achieved a score of 98.78, with the country recycling 51.47% of municipal waste. Rounding off the top five were Slovenia, with a score of 93.48%, Germany on 91.59% and Latvia on 87.35%.
Elsewhere, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy and the Republic of Korea completed the top 10.
Arka‘s research assessed countries’s efforts across four pillars of the circular economy – the efficiency with which raw materials are used to generate economic output, the share of municipal waste recycled, the flow of used clothing through imports and exports, and the amount of electronic waste generated per person.
‘Great examples’
“It may sound hard to believe, but according to the UN’s Global Waste Management Outlook, only 19% of municipal solid waste gets recycled around the world,” an Arka spokesperson said.
“The countries at the top of this report – recycling over half their waste – can be great examples for others. Germany overhauled its entire waste management system in 1990 and built the habits and systems over decades. Singapore made recycling mandatory in commercial buildings in the 1990s. They reflect 30-plus years of consistent policy and public participation.” Read more here.
Top 10 Countries Best at Making Things Last
| Country | Circularity Performance Score | Material Use per GDP (kg per US dollar) | Municipal Recycling Rate (%) | Used Clothing Net Exports (kg per person) | E-waste Generated (kg per person) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 100 | 0.39 | 52 | 0.58 | 20.3 |
| Austria | 98.78 | 0.3 | 51.47 | 3.14 | 19.6 |
| Slovenia | 93.48 | 0.48 | 46.09 | 0.94 | 17.0 |
| Germany | 91.59 | 0.29 | 46.99 | 4.8 | 21.2 |
| Latvia | 87.35 | 0.71 | 36.09 | -2.25 | 11.9 |
| Denmark | 81.38 | 0.35 | 31.22 | -0.06 | 22.3 |
| Netherlands | 81.36 | 0.13 | 28.12 | 4.98 | 22.1 |
| Ireland | 81.34 | 0.24 | 26.02 | -0.1 | 20.6 |
| Italy | 80.49 | 0.22 | 21.86 | -0.95 | 19.0 |
| Republic of Korea | 79.51 | 0.49 | 38.43 | 4.95 | 17.9 |
