Can’t agree more? Look at the mess around.
Well, in case you’re being metaphorical, this is a fact quite literally as well.
Means?
Latest analysis from a World Bank report that looked into waste generation and management practices in 217 countries and 367 cities says the world is becoming a big pile of waste and we must take urgent measures to check the amount of garbage being generated across the globe and being dumped on the people. To give you some numbers, a comprehensive report from the global lender, titled ‘What a Waste 2.0’, says, globally, annual waste production will go up 70 per cent if the current level of waste-making continues unchecked.
What’s the amount of waste generated now?
We produce more than two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) every year. According to the study, which took many years to prepare, overall waste generation will cross 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050.
But don’t we recycle the waste?
Well, we do. But as you can see, we don’t even do the bare essential on that front. We recycle some 13.5 per cent of the waste and nearly 5.5 per cent is composted. World Bank experts say that we don’t properly manage about 40 per cent of the waste. In fact, we simply dump or openly burn most of it.
That’s criminal!
You said it. The question should be who’s really responsible for the mess. This is a very important issue considering that waste production contributed to 5 per cent of emissions in 2016. That’s equal to some 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon-dioxide-equivalent. And this is likely to grow to 2.6 billion tonnes by 2050.
So, who’re the baddies here?
In fact, much like in the debates on climate change and human-induced global warming, the discussions on finding the real culprits for the global waste and make them responsible for their actions is a tall order. Wealthy countries such as the US, Canada and the European Union together generate 34 per cent of the waste even though they account for just 16 per cent of global population, point of the World Bank report. But many of these countries have implemented some meaningful systems to manage solid waste.
What about their poorer cousins then?
When high-income countries manage almost 98 per cent of their waste, nearly 93 per cent of the waste being generated in the low-income (mostly developing and least developed countries) are not managed properly. If you look at the per-head waste generation metrics (something that’s widely used in the climate change discussions), in North America (the US and Canada), the per capita waste generated every day is some 4.87 pounds (2.20 kg). This is 1.01 pounds (458 gm) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Interesting.
Anyway, waste generation is likely to triple in Sub-Saharan Africa and double in South Asia (which includes India) and by 2050 these regions will together account for 35 per cent of the global waste output.
So, what’s to be done?
There are no simple answers. The first step we must take is to amend our business habit of “take, make, dispose” and manage waste responsibly, especially municipal and industrial waste, including electronic waste. We need more plans and policy action towards such efforts. Interestingly, the World Bank report mentions the Swachh Bharat Mission, saying that India’s cleaning programme supported 4,000 cities, towns, and rural areas. This missions means business as well as it is expected to fund more than $9.5 billion in investments.
That’s nice, but what are the other solutions?
Waste collection should see more active support from governments and civil society organisations. There is some progress there: the report shows that in low-income countries waste collection increased from 22 per cent to 39 per cent since 2012.
There should be concerted efforts to enhance waste management infrastructure, and incineration of waste for conversion to energy should be promoted. And, importantly, public and private investment towards waste management should spike.
A weekly column that helps you ask the right questions