Global Waste Management Outlook 2024

Global Waste Management Outlook 2024

News: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the report titled Beyond an age of waste: Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 (GWMO 2024).

Key findings:
• Global Scenario: Every year across the globe more than two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated.
• Waste Collection: More than a third of the world’s population is drowning in waste, with over 2.7 billion people in the Global South and developing regions of the world not having their waste collected. An estimated 540 million tonnes of municipal solid waste, an equivalent of 27 percent of the global total waste, is not being collected.
• Future Projection: It also predicted that waste generated was set to grow in volumes — from 2.3 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.
• Health Impact: The negative impacts of municipal solid waste on the climate, biodiversity and human health will almost double by 2050.

What are barriers to waste management?

Lack of Public Awareness and Education
• In many regions, there is insufficient awareness among the public about proper waste management practices.
• Lack of education regarding waste reduction, recycling, and responsible disposal contributes to ineffective waste management.

Lack of inclusion
• Policies and infrastructure for municipal waste management developed without inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making are more likely to fail due to being either ill-informed or inappropriate to the local context.

Technical barriers
• When mixed municipal waste is collected, it has a negative value since it is more diffcult (and costly) to extract recyclable materials.

Lack of an enabling environment
• Private sector involvement in waste management activities can be stifled by bureaucratic barriers with respect to operating permits, as well as a lack.

Key recommendations:
• Multinational development banks and donors can support the scaling up of proven zero waste and circular economy initiatives.
• Incentivise zero waste business models, and apply producer responsibility fees to prioritise waste reduction.
• Producers and retailers can reduce the costs of waste to society by taking due responsibility and pursuing zero waste business models.
• Everyone can prevent unnecessary waste through reuse and refill, waste segregation and home composting, as well as using consumer power to support zero waste enterprises.

Government of India initiatives
• E-waste management rules
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
• Solid waste management rules, 2016
• Waste to energy projects