Connecting Circular Economy Toronto & Circular Economy Foundation in Taiwan

Last year, I attended the Smart City Summit in Taipei, where I learned about the work of the Circular Economy Foundation, founded by Charles Huang. I was inspired by his knowledge and enthusiasm, learning a great deal as he made a presentation to me and the councillors who were part of my delegation. All of us left knowing a great deal more about the concepts behind a circular economy and ideas for implementation.

As Toronto moves forward with its 10-Year Circular Economy Road Map, I wanted to connect our staff with Charles to exchange information and build synergistic pathways. We are grateful that staff from Environment, Climate & Forestry, Solid Waste Management Services, Housing Secretariat, Purchasing and Material Management, the Toronto Environmental Alliance, and team members from Councillor Chernos Lin’s office, along with myself and members from my team, met at 8 am to accommodate the transnational meeting.

During the webinar, Charles explained the basics of the circular economy and how it can be put into action. He introduced the idea of “Circular Collaboration for Collective Crisis” (CC4CC), which highlights the need for strong ideas, effective governance, and responsible business practices to move away from a linear economy. He also spoke about key challenges, including how we measure growth, how we approach sustainability goals, and why we need to address the root causes of climate change rather than just the symptoms.

He shared examples from Taiwan, including progress made since 2016, such as turning organic waste into energy through biogas plants and encouraging residents to repair products through maintenance vouchers.

A major theme was the limits of our current “take, make, waste” system. While efforts like reduce, reuse, and recycle (3Rs) are important, they still focus on managing waste after it is created. A circular economy looks earlier in the process by rethinking how products are designed, used, and reused. Ideas include the valuation and extraction of building materials that can be repurposed in other projects when buildings are demolished. 

We ended with a discussion on working across different levels of government, the role of AI, and how to better communicate these ideas to residents and businesses.

I hope this conversation leads to stronger collaboration as Toronto continues to lead circular economy efforts in North America. Perhaps we will invite Charles to speak to our Climate Action Roundtable in the future.