Wazzup Pilipinas!?
In late October 2025, Taipei became more than just a city: it became an epicenter for circular-economy ambition. The joint forum of the 2nd Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable (APCER) and the inaugural Asia‑Pacific Circular Economy Hotspot invites governments, business leaders, innovators and civil-society actors to unite under one banner: “Leading Circular Collaboration.”
With Taiwan hosting the first Hotspot in the Asia-Pacific region, the stakes were high — and the symbolism unmistakable. This is a call to turn circular economy from theory into scale; from pilot projects into industrial systems; from “good ideas” into “good business.”
Why this event matters — and why now
Global resource flows are under stress. Manufacturing hubs in the Asia-Pacific face rising environmental burdens: material scarcity, supply‐chain disruption, waste leakage into oceans and communities. The linear “take-make-dispose” model is failing not only the planet, but competitive business models.
Enter the circular economy: a paradigm where resource loops are closed, value is retained, and business models shift from volume to value, from ownership to service. Taiwan isn’t just embracing this shift — it seeks to lead it. The host nation boasts municipal recycling rates of 59 % and industrial rates up to 85 % as of 2023.
The event’s thematic engine is anchored in what the organisers call the “Circular Trilogy”:
Good Ideas → the innovations and design thinking around circular business models
Good Governance → policy frameworks, regulatory instruments, international collaboration
Good Business → deploying scalable value chains, commercial viability, circular supply-chains
By bringing these three together, the 2025 Roundtable & Hotspot is positioned as much more than a conference — it is a launch-pad for action across borders and sectors.
What’s on offer: Program highlights & immersive experiences
Immersive site visits
On 21 October, attendees embarked on six themed industry tours, showcasing Taiwan’s circular economy in action:
Agriculture & Food
Textiles
High-tech & Electronics
Architecture & Construction
Plastics & Packaging
Community-driven circular business models
These tours promise real-world immersion — from biomaterial agriculture to reuse loops in textiles, from industrial symbiosis in electronics to circular building in architecture.
The conference days: 22-23 October
Key themes include:
Policy & Governance: outlining how governments and regulators enable circular transitions
Financial Enablers: exploring financing, investment, business incentives for circular models
Business Transformation: how companies pivot from linear to circular operations
Trade & Traceability: supply-chain transparency, material passports, cross-border flows
Consumer Engagement: lifestyle transformation, circular procurement, zero-waste living
Exhibition & Networking — The “Circular-Cross Expo”
Running 23-26 October at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, this expo brings the circular economy into tactile form:
Showcase of benchmark enterprises, circular start-ups, industrial transformation models
AI-powered matchmaking for cross-border partnerships
Workshops and lifestyle experiences where circular design becomes everyday practice
Taiwan’s Circulation Story: From Policy to Practice
The backdrop to this event was Taiwan’s own circular economy journey — and it’s a rich one. Taiwan has embedded resource circulation and net-zero ambitions into national strategy: in 2022 it added “resource circulation zero waste” into its net-zero roadmap.
Some key pillars:
Closed-loop recycling in hard-to‐manage sectors (textiles, plastics, electronics)
Industrial symbiosis: high-tech sector turns resource scarcity into impetus for reuse, regeneration
Policy mechanisms: circular procurement, industrial alliances, ecosystem networks driving the transition
By hosting the Asia-Pacific Hotspot, Taiwan invites the region to “step inside” its operations — not merely admire them from afar. It positions itself not only as practitioner but as hub for cross-border collaboration.
Connecting to the International Workshop on Circular Economy & Sustainable Policy
Alongside the Roundtable & Hotspot, Taiwan also hosted the International Workshop on Circular Economy and Sustainable Policy Implementation — a complementary forum spotlighting evidence, policy frameworks and scaling mechanisms for circular transition.
This workshop is important because it directly engages with the “governance” pillar of the circular trilogy: bringing policy makers, researchers and practitioners together to discuss how circular economy principles become embedded into national policy, supply-chain regulation, public procurement and funding mechanisms.
It signals that the 2025 week in Taipei wasn’t just about showcasing innovation — it is about operational-ising it: policy → governance → business.
Why stakeholders should care now
Businesses: This is a unique opportunity to partner, network and integrate into Asia-Pacific supply-chains shifting to circular models. The matchmaking sessions and Expo deliver concrete collaboration platforms.
Policy makers: The event offered a living laboratory — Taiwan’s experience is both a model and a spring-board. Lessons learned can shape national circular road-maps across the region.
Investors & financiers: As circular economy evolves, the risk/return profiles of resource‐efficient, regenerative business models are changing — this event surfaces early signals.
Start-ups & innovators: Immersive site-visits and the expo provide exposure to industrial ecosystems, potential pilots, and scaling opportunities across sectors.
Civil society & researchers: From consumer engagement to lifecycle assessment, the event deep-dives into how circular economy is not just industrial, but societal — how it affects daily lives, behaviours and communities.
What to watch — key questions and themes
From pilot to scale: Many circular economy initiatives remain niche or local. Can Taiwan’s ecosystem showcase how to scale efficiently?
Cross-border collaboration: Circularity often means supply chains and material flows that transcend borders. How will the event enable meaningful international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific?
Governance and measurement: Good governance means rules, incentives, metrics. Will national circular road-maps move from abstract to actionable — with measurable outcomes?
Business viability: Circular economy is often pitched as “good for the planet” — but must also be “good for business”. Which sectors and models prove both?
Consumer & lifestyle integration: Industrial transformation is one thing — but circularity also requires consumer behaviour change, urban infrastructure, service-design. How visible was that at the event?
A Spotlight on the “2050 Circular Economy Roadmap”
The timelines stretching to 2030 and then 2050 underscores the long-view orientation of Taiwan’s strategy. By 2050 Taiwan aims for net-zero and full circular economy. The path from today to 2030 and then 2050 is broken into key domains: legislation/regulation, eco-design/upstream reduction, circular procurement, energy/resource efficiency, technology innovation, education & training.
This long-horizon roadmap illustrates two truths:
Circular transformation is systemic — it spans multiple sectors (textiles, plastics, high-tech, construction) and multiple stakeholders (government, industry, academic, civil society).
Momentum matters: the sooner action accelerates, the more feasible the 2050 vision becomes. The 2025 event is a catalytic moment — not a final chapter.
Looking ahead: what this means for the Asia-Pacific region
By hosting the first Asia-Pacific CE Hotspot, Taiwan signals regional leadership — but the success of the event depends on the region showing up. The Asia-Pacific is home to critical material flows, manufacturing hubs, and waste streams — and therefore critical opportunity. The event is thus both symbolic and strategic: symbolically, it claims Taiwan as a circular pivot; strategically, it invites the region to integrate and collaborate.
For other Asia-Pacific nations, this forum offered:
A chance to benchmark against Taiwan’s progress — both the achievements and the challenges.
An opportunity to connect with supply-chains and innovation networks shifting to circularity.
A platform to influence regional frameworks, standards, and trade practices around circular materials and resource flows.
In Closing: The Call to Action
“Leading Circular Collaboration” is more than a catchy theme — it is a demand. The climate crisis, resource depletion and waste accumulation are not distant threats: they are today’s reality. The 2025 Roundtable & Hotspot in Taipei invites us not to admire circular economy from afar, but to immerse, connect, transform.
Taiwan has rolled out the red carpet — now the global circular economy community must step in. If the event succeeds in turning good ideas into good business, underpinned by good governance — then the impact will ripple beyond Taipei. The Asia-Pacific could become the next great frontier of circular transition.
For participants, like Ross Flores Del Rosario, Director of Bayanihan Para Sa Kalikasan Movement (BKM) and the founder of Wazzup Pilipinas, who attended the event in Taiwan, one message stands out: don’t just observe circular economy — become part of its evolution.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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