The amount of waste we produce is expected to DOUBLE in the next 15-20 years. Where is it going to go?
A growing population, increasing urbanisation, and a shift to a consumer lifestyle are leading to the generation of ever great volumes of solid waste around the world. When our waste isn’t managed properly it can end up in drains and rivers, and eventually makes its way to the sea.
- More than 90% of the plastic in the sea comes from land based sources.
- Every year, 4-12 million tonnes of mismanaged waste enters the oceans from within 50km of the coast. More than half of this is from five countries in east Asia.
- An additional 0.4-4 million tonnes waste reaches the oceans via rivers. More than 90% of this waste flows along 10 major rivers in Asia and Africa.
- Overall, mismanaged household and business waste in lower-income countries probably accounts for 50-70% by weight of plastics entering the oceans.
This is a major problem, but it is only part of the story.
With two billion people living without waste collection and three billion without controlled waste disposal, the poor management of solid waste is a global crisis.
Poor management of solid waste leads to a range of negative impacts on:
- The environment – polluting rivers and wells; causing local air pollution and climate change emissions; polluting the oceans with plastics and land, air and water with microplastics; harming wildlife; and blocking drains leading to flooding.
- Human health – burning waste leads to respiratory diseases; the pollution from waste causes childhood stunting; blocked drains exacerbate the spread of water-borne and infectious diseases, flooding and drowning.
- Local economies – healthcare costs a lot more when disease is commonplace; communities experience productivity losses and damage from flooding; tourists stay away; clean-up costs can be significant; and unmanaged waste worsens social inequality.
There is a flip-side…
Whilst badly managed waste represents a threat to human health, the environment and economic development, there are also many opportunities. Improved resource management can help people who are economically marginalised, and there is increasing interest from the global development community as to the opportunities that a more circular approach offers.
International donors are increasingly prioritising actions for the poorest and most marginalised, such as in the UK Department for International Development’s Leave No-One Behind agenda.
A pro-poor, inclusive approach to improve solid waste management would be a win-win:
Providing a vital service to some of the world’s poorest communities would make them a healthier place to live, grow and do business in, whilst creating green jobs.
Importantly, community-led waste management can also help limit climate change and stop plastic polluting our rivers and oceans.
How to improve the lives of the world’s poorest and halve the plastic entering the oceans
To address the global waste crisis, the international community needs to act.
WasteAid and CIWM are calling on the UK Government to:
Fund: Commit to increasing the proportion of aid spent on waste management to at least 3% from its current estimated level of 0.3%;
Champion: Promote the need for increases in aid to waste management within the Commonwealth and G7, for example as part of the blue economy priority; and
Lead: Spearhead negotiation of a binding international treaty to tackle marine plastic pollution, which should have at its core prevention through proper solid waste management, as well as efforts to clean up existing pollution.
Priorities to tackle marine plastic pollution at source:
1. Prioritise technical assistance to improve governance and the enabling environment, establishing multi-stakeholder coordinating bodies and scaling up contextually relevant community-based recycling approaches.
2. Where possible and especially in poorer countries, fund projects that work with local informal waste management approaches to develop sustainable solutions that enable local communities to create value and not rely on continued external support.
3. Avoid inappropriate large-scale, high-cost, high-technology projects, which often threaten waste picker livelihoods, are
not suited to waste streams with high organic content and are reliant on very high capacity clients to ensure environmental standards are met.
4. Work with the resource management sector, universities and development groups to:
a) Leverage greater investment from the broader international development community and ‘mainstream’ waste;
b) Incubate and support novel approaches to delivery of waste services in low income countries;
c) Convene opportunities for international partnership and knowledge exchange;
d) Share technical guidance and best practice; and
e) Avoid the known pitfalls to move confidently towards a more equitable and sustainable future.
Read the WasteAid & CIWM briefing paper in full
On World Water Day (22 March 2018) WasteAid and CIWM issued a call to action to the UK Government with a detailed briefing paper on the relationship between solid waste management and the growing tide of marine plastics pollution.
“From the Land to the Sea” catalogues the impact that poor or non-existent waste collection and management practices in developing countries have on the growing quantity of plastic waste that is entering the oceans every year.
Kiasi cha taka tunazozalisha kinatarajiwa kuongezeka mara mbili katika miaka 15-20 ijayo. Itaenda wapi? Ongezeko la idadi ya watu, kuongezeka kwa mijini, na mabadiliko ya mtindo wa maisha ya watumiaji yanasababisha uzalishaji wa kiasi kikubwa cha taka ngumu ulimwenguni kote. Wakati taka zetu hazitumiwi vizuri zinaweza kuishia katika mifereji ya maji na mito, na hatimaye kufanya njia yake kwa bahari. Zaidi ya 90% ya plastiki ya baharini hutoka kwenye ardhi. Kila mwaka, tani milioni 4 hadi 12 za taka zinazosimamiwa vibaya huingia baharini kutoka ndani ya kilomita 50 za pwani. Zaidi ya nusu ya idadi hiyo hutoka katika nchi tano za Asia Mashariki. Zaidi ya tani milioni 0.4 za taka hufikia bahari kupitia mito. Zaidi ya 90% ya taka hii hutiririka kwenye mito 10 mikubwa ya Asia na Afrika. Kwa ujumla, taka za nyumbani na biashara ambazo hazijasimamiwa vizuri katika nchi zenye mapato ya chini zinaweza kuwa na asilimia 50-70 ya uzito wa plastiki inayoingia baharini. Hii ni tatizo kubwa, lakini ni sehemu tu ya hadithi. Kwa kuwa watu bilioni mbili wanaishi bila mkusanyiko wa taka na bilioni tatu bila kuondolewa kwa taka, usimamizi mbaya wa taka imara ni mgogoro wa ulimwengu. Usimamizi mbaya wa taka imara husababisha athari mbaya kwa mazingira, kusababisha uchafuzi wa hewa wa ndani na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa, uchafuzi wa bahari na plastiki, ardhi, hewa na maji na microplastics, kuharibu wanyama wa porini, na kuzuia mifereji ya maji inayoongoza kwa mafuriko. - Afya ya binadamu <unk> kuchoma taka husababisha magonjwa ya mfumo wa kupumua; uchafuzi kutoka taka husababisha utotoni; mifereji ya maji yaliyofungwa huongeza kuenea kwa magonjwa yanayopitishwa na maji na magonjwa ya kuambukiza, mafuriko na kuzama. - Uchumi wa mitaa <unk> huduma za afya zinagharimu zaidi wakati ugonjwa ni wa kawaida; jamii hupata hasara ya uzalishaji na uharibifu kutokana na mafuriko; watalii huendelea mbali; gharama za kusafisha zinaweza kuwa kubwa; na taka zisizosimamiwa zinazidisha ukosefu wa usawa wa kijamii. "Hata hivyo, kuna upande mwingine: ""Wakati taka zinazosimamiwa vibaya zinawakilisha tishio kwa afya ya binadamu, mazingira na maendeleo ya kiuchumi, kuna fursa nyingi.""" Usimamizi bora wa rasilimali unaweza kusaidia watu ambao ni wa kiuchumi marginalized, na kuna kuongezeka kwa maslahi kutoka kwa jamii ya maendeleo ya kimataifa kama kwa fursa ambazo mbinu zaidi mviringo inatoa. "Msaada wa kimataifa unaendelea kuwa wa kipaumbele kwa ajili ya maskini na walio chini zaidi, kama ilivyo katika mpango wa ""Hakuna Mtu Acha nyuma"" wa Idara ya Maendeleo ya Kimataifa ya Uingereza." "Mtazamo wa kuwahusisha maskini ili kuboresha usimamizi wa taka imara itakuwa ""win-win"" - kutoa huduma muhimu kwa baadhi ya jamii maskini zaidi duniani itawafanya kuwa mahali pa afya zaidi ya kuishi, kukua na kufanya biashara, wakati wa kuunda kazi za kijani." "Kila mtu anaweza kuamua jinsi ya kusimamia taka na kupunguza mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa na kuzuia plastiki kuchafua mito na bahari zetu. """ Jinsi ya kuboresha maisha ya maskini duniani na kupunguza nusu ya plastiki kuingia baharini Ili kukabiliana na mgogoro wa taka ya kimataifa, jamii ya kimataifa inahitaji kutenda. WasteAid na CIWM zinatoa wito kwa Serikali ya Uingereza: Kutoa fedha: Kujipanga kuongeza sehemu ya misaada inayotumika kwa usimamizi wa taka hadi angalau 3% kutoka kiwango chake cha sasa cha 0.3%; Champion: Kukuza hitaji la kuongezeka kwa misaada kwa usimamizi wa taka ndani ya Jumuiya ya Madola na G7, kwa mfano kama sehemu ya kipaumbele cha uchumi wa bluu; na Kuongoza: Kuongoza mazungumzo ya mkataba wa kimataifa wa kulazimisha kupambana na uchafuzi wa plastiki baharini, ambayo inapaswa kuwa na msingi wake wa kuzuia uchafuzi kupitia usimamizi sahihi wa taka. Vipengele vya kwanza vya kukabiliana na uchafuzi wa plastiki wa baharini katika chanzo: 1. Kutoa msaada wa kiufundi kwa kuboresha utawala na mazingira ya kuwezesha, kuanzisha vyombo vya uratibu wa wadau wengi na kupanua mbinu za kuchakata zinazohusiana na mazingira ya jamii. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata """Pinawezekana, na hasa katika nchi maskini, fedha miradi ambayo kazi na mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao ya mitandao." 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli "Kuwa na mradi wa kiwango cha juu, gharama kubwa, na teknolojia ya juu, ambayo mara nyingi hutishia maisha ya wakusanyaji wa taka, haifai kwa mito ya taka yenye maudhui ya kikaboni na inategemea wateja wenye uwezo mkubwa wa kuhakikisha viwango vya mazingira vinatimizwa. """ 4. Uwe na uhakika Kazi na sekta ya usimamizi wa rasilimali, vyuo vikuu na makundi ya maendeleo ya: (a) leverage uwekezaji zaidi kutoka jamii pana ya kimataifa ya maendeleo na "mainstream" taka; (b) incubate na kusaidia mbinu mpya kwa ajili ya utoaji wa huduma za taka katika nchi za mapato ya chini; (c) kuandaa fursa kwa ajili ya ushirikiano wa kimataifa na kubadilishana maarifa; (d) kushiriki mwongozo wa kiufundi na mazoezi bora; na (e) kuepuka mapungufu inayojulikana kwa ajili ya kusonga kwa uhakika kuelekea siku zijazo. WasteAid na CIWM wametoa wito kwa Serikali ya Uingereza kwa uhusiano kati ya usimamizi wa taka ngumu na kuongezeka kwa uchafuzi wa plastiki baharini. "Kutoka nchi kavu hadi bahari" inaorodhesha athari ambazo mkusanyiko duni au haupo wa mifumo ya mkusanyiko wa taka na usimamizi katika nchi zinazoendelea zina idadi inayoongezeka ya taka za plastiki ambazo zinaingia baharini kila mwaka. """