Taiwan is sharpening its long-term vision for a more resource-efficient, low-waste future, unveiling a new draft blueprint that outlines how the island plans to scale up circular economy solutions across industries.
A circular economy minimises waste by keeping materials in use for as long as possible through reuse, repair and recycling. Governments and businesses worldwide are turning to circular models that reduce dependence on constant extraction and cut the amount of rubbish sent to landfills or incinerators.
“Taiwan aims to become the hub of the circular economy in Asia,” said the island’s environment minister Chi-Ming Peng at Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable & Hotspot (APCER) on 22 October, where the draft roadmap, formally titled the 2050 Taiwan Circular Economy Roadmap, was released.
The roadmap, slated for finalisation in 2026, sets long-term targets to double resource productivity, cut per-capita material use by about 30 per cent and increase the island’s circularity rate to 2.5 times its 2020 level, while outlining reforms in eco-design, circular procurement and innovation to shift the country from waste management toward a full resource-circulation system.
“Circular economy is highly localised yet not something that can be done by one country alone,” said Peng who emphasised the importance of regional collaboration.
Taiwan has made the circular economy a central part of its long-term sustainability agenda, saying the shift is critical for an island with limited natural resources and one of the world’s most export-dependent industrial bases.
Officials argue that circular systems can reduce reliance on imported raw materials, lower waste-management pressures and improve the resilience of supply chains that support sectors such as semiconductors, petrochemicals and machinery.
The government has expanded recycling rules, introduced extended-producer-responsibility schemes and funded pilot programmes in remanufacturing, industrial symbiosis and eco-design. It has also promoted collaboration between local manufacturers and multinational brands under growing pressure to cut emissions and shrink the environmental footprint of their products.
Taipei says stronger circularity can give Taiwanese companies a competitive edge as global buyers demand lower-carbon, resource-efficient goods.
Stephanie Downes, Asia-Pacific executive director at the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), said Taiwan’s roadmap could position the island as “a new reference point for circular economy standards in Asia”, offering a policy anchor similar to the European Union but with a stronger focus on practical collaboration and technology sharing.
She added that Taiwan may provide a more relatable set of benchmarks for Asean countries, given the similar environmental pressures and resource challenges faced across the region.
Many Taiwanese supply chains run through Asean, and officials say aligning circular standards across the region, such as improving waste segregation, developing cross-border recycling infrastructure and adopting closed-loop production, would reduce pollution and strengthen regional industrial ties.
In fact, Taiwan has been steadily building the foundations for regional cooperation through its New Southbound Policy, launched in 2016, to deepen trade and diplomatic ties with Southeast Asia.
The policy encourages Taiwanese firms to assess market needs across Asean and invest in local resource, capital and technology gaps. It has also led to the establishment of Taiwan External Trade Development Council offices in eight Asean countries, creating channels for two-way investment and market access.
Alice Chou, vice president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said Taiwan’s circular-economy ambitions will only succeed overseas if they are adapted to local conditions.
“There’s a need to adapt to local population needs and government policies,” she said, noting that advanced technologies alone will not guarantee uptake. Analysts believe Taiwanese industries that already comply with extended-producer-responsibility rules may become early movers in seeking circular partnerships in Southeast Asia.
Asean readiness
Even without formal requirements, Taiwan’s higher standards are likely to exert pressure across its import-export ties with Asean.
Vietnam, Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner in the bloc, for instance, recorded US$2.7 billion in bilateral trade in September 2025, with Vietnamese exports to Taiwan ranking second only to Malaysia.
Thanh Vinh Hoang, a programme analyst at the UN Development Programme in Vietnam, said Taiwanese firms operating in the country could bring stricter corporate rules and push local industries to lift their practices.
Hanoi launched its first circular-economy action plan in January 2025, drawing heavily on Taiwanese policies, but remains focused on basic waste management.
“Industries will react first – policymakers will follow,” Hoang told Eco-Business.
The Philippines may be in a better position to collaborate after introducing an Extended Producer Responsibility Act in 2022, although the law currently targets plastics and suffers from weak enforcement.
Anna Reyes, executive director of circular-design consultancy Circulo and Sustina (Philippine Sustainability Intelligence Association, Inc.), said Taiwan’s roadmap is encouraging but questioned how easily its policies can be replicated in Southeast Asia.
She added that some circular-economy initiatives – such as Taiwan’s e-waste recovery alliance – cannot be scaled regionally because they rely on conditions unique to the island.
But some Taiwan officials cautioned that the roadmap is not intended to impose standards on neighbouring economies.
Charles Huang, chairman of the Circular Taiwan Network (CTN), said the plan is built around cooperation rather than compliance, contrasting it with EU rules that Asean exporters must follow.
“That would not be the path Taiwan wants to move forward,” he said.
Ying-Ying Lai, director general of the island’s Resource Circulation Administration under the environment ministry and a key contributor to the roadmap, echoed that view.
She said Taiwan does not intend to set its standards first and then expect Southeast Asian partners to follow.
“Rather, we first get our own systems and practices in order, and then use our experience to cooperate with other countries,” she noted.
Lai added that future collaboration will take into account the logistics systems and existing circular-economy facilities in partner countries before deciding how Taiwan’s experience can be applied overseas.
