What is the solution?
Waste management should follow the waste hierarchy: first, reducing and minimising waste, second, re-using and repairing, third, recycling or composting of waste, followed by energy recovery and, as a last resort, waste disposal (landfill, burial). In emergency situations, it is important to first tackle waste that could pose an immediate risk to the health and safety of affected populations.
Why is it important?
It is estimated that globally more than 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste were generated in 2016. This number is expected to grow to 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario. In low-income countries, the total quantity of waste is even expected to triple by 2050. The volume, type of waste and collection rates differ starkly by region and by income level. For example, 93% of waste in low-income is disposed of in open dumps, whereas this is the case for only 2% of waste in high-income countries. (1)
Poor waste management does not only have an impact on the environment but can also threaten public health. UN-Habitat found that in areas with no sufficient access to waste management services, the incidence of diarrhoea is twice as high, and acute respiratory infections occur six times more often than in areas with frequent waste collection. (2)
Reducing, sorting, collecting, recycling, and ensuring proper disposal of waste as well as putting in place a waste management plan and monitor waste quantities are therefore important levers to tackle the issue of waste pollution.
Key solutions
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#1 Plan & monitor
Address management of the different types of waste in a waste management plan, notably for hazardous and medical waste. Put in place a basic waste monitoring system, including classification and weighing, to understand the impact of measures and to adapt, if needed.
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#2 Avoid & reduce
Involve colleagues from relevant departments to avoid & reduce waste. Many of the actions related to avoiding waste take place early in the process, such as at the project planning and conception or the procurement phase. Privilege re-usable items, minimize plastic items, choose repairable equipment, to name a few examples.
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#3 Sorting & collecting
Put in place a system to sort and collect waste. Specific solutions are required for different types of waste when it comes to sorting & collecting, notably for hazardous or medical waste. The following phases (4 & 5) will only be possible if collection and sorting are done properly.
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#4 Re-use and re-cycle
Identify waste categories that can be re-used or recycled. Facilitate re-use by putting in place the necessary infrastructure, for example repair shops. Work with local recycling SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Entreprises) and create employment opportunities. Consider influencing and supporting local governments and decision-makers to improve the recycling infrastructure.
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#5 Treatment & final disposal
Work with best available technology for the disposal of waste. Identify and use local or regional disposal channels and establish partnerships (e.g., incineration in cement plants). Mutualize specific equipment or process with other actors (NGO’s, health structures, local governments, etc.).
Find more about composting here
Tools and good practices
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IFRC, Managing Solid Waste: Sector-Specific Guidelines for the Red Cross Red Crescent, 2020
A handbook that provides practical advice to sector practitioners who are not necessarily specialised in waste management. The document contains an extensive list of additional resources
Read here -
Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, Disaster Waste Management Guidelines, 2013
A guide to waste management in the context of emergencies and disasters
Read here -
Oxfam, Technical Briefs
Oxfam provides a series of technical briefs on the topics of domestic and refugee camp waste management, composting, large-scale environmental clean-up campaigns and hazardous wastes
Read here -
EAWAG/SANDEC, Decentralised Composting for Cities of Low- and Middle-Income Countries. A Users’ Manual, 2006
The document gives an overview of existing technologies, presents case studies and provides links to technology providers
Read here -
The handbook describes approaches and methods of composting on neighbourhood level in small-and middle-scale plants. The reader is led step by step through the planning, implementing and operational stages of a decentralised composting scheme
Read here
To go further
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The World Bank, What a Waste 2.0, A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050, 2018
A report with a wealth of data on global waste management. It also includes case studies from around the globe
Read here -
UNEP/IETC, Reports on waste management in different regions
The UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) provides access to a number of resources on waste management, with a focus on practices or policies in different regions
Read here
Repurpose packaging
Repairable items
Eliminate unnecessary or problematic plastic packaging
Sources
(1) The World Bank, What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050, 2018. Read here
(2) UN-Habitat, Solid Waste Management in the World’s Cities: Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities 2010, 2010. Read here
(3) The World Bank, What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050, 2018. Read here
(4) Mainly driven by open dumping and landfill disposal. The World Bank, What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050, 2018. Read here
(5) UNDP, Tsunami Recovery Waste Management Programme, 2015. Read here
(6) ProAct Network et al., Planning Centralised Building Waste Management Programmes in Response to Large Disasters, 2010. Read here
(7) Disaster waste recovery – DWR in action, 2014. Read here
Cover photo © Pawel Czerwinski/Unsplash.
Composting
