A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2017

Owing to the low quality of rice supply chain in Myanmar caused by low level of awareness at the rice mills in environmental issue, cleaner production practice, quality control, standardization and certification, this research intended to assess the current situation of policy, economy, social, technology, opportunities, and barriers for circular economy (CE) in Myanmar including a case study of Eco-Industrial Network (EIN) for rice mills by using gap analysis, cost and benefit analysis, and material flow analysis. The findings showed weak policy preparedness, high cost of production and low level of benefit, low social security for workers and high demand of advanced technology. The opportunity and barrier of Circular Economy were the awareness training for Circular Economy initiated by INGOs in collaboration with the government and low technology at the rice mills. These findings disclosed that it is still quite challenging to implement Circular Economy in the area of rice mill industry in Myanmar.