Waste Pollution 101

A primer on how unsustainable production and consumption habits have escalated the waste pollution crisis.
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1. What is waste pollution?2. Types of waste 3. What are the implications?4. How we can #BeatWastePollution 5. Resources

In a relentless pursuit of comfort and convenience, humanity has created a torrent of waste pollution that disrupts ecosystems, threatens economic prosperity and harms human well-being.

Spurred by unsustainable consumption and production practices, households, small businesses and public service providers generate 2.1 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) a year. However, 2.7 billion people lack access to solid waste collection globally. Without urgent action, MSW generation will balloon to 3.8 billion tonnes annually by 2050.

To #BeatWastePollution, we must embrace a lifecycle approach, which will allow us to halve projected global MSW generation in 2050 compared to a business-as-usual approach, as can be seen in the chart below.

A lifecycle approach entails substantially addressing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. This provides the best pathway to reducing total waste generation and providing economic, social and environmental benefits.

Projected global municipal solid waste generation under different scenarios

Business as usual

Controlled

Lifecycle approach

Business as usual: Consumption patterns are unchanged. Investments in waste management remain limited.
Controlled: End of open dumping and burning by 2050. Large investments to expand collection coverage.
Lifecycle approach: Global effort to bring down waste generation by changing upstream dynamics: materials redesign, reuse and shift in consumption mentality.

Keep reading to learn more about waste pollution’s implications for the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution, human health, gender equality and the economy, as well as the solutions that can guide us towards a zero-waste future.

What is waste pollution?

Waste pollution is a global crisis growing in quantity and complexity, disrupting ecosystems and societies. Modern society and lifestyles revolve around a take-make-waste approach, tipping the balance further away from a sustainable future.

From discarded food and packaging to construction debris and agriculture runoff, waste pollution is the unintended byproduct of unsustainable consumption and production. Below are some key forms of waste pollution.

Municipal solid waste

Every year, humanity produces 2.1 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW), which can be divided into six main categories, as seen in the visualizations below. "Other" includes textiles, wood, rubber, leather, household and personal hygiene products, and more.

Municipal solid waste categories

Click on the labels to toggle waste categories in the chart.

Industrial waste

Factories, commercial establishments and other large-scale operations produce a broad range of waste, including heavy metals, plastics, chemicals and paper. The composition and quantity of industrial and commercial waste differs vastly by location, meaning tailored approaches to waste management are needed. For example, high-income countries generate 43 kilograms of industrial waste per person a day, compared to lower-middle-income countries, which produce 0.36 kilograms per person a day. Based on current trends, industrial waste will continue to rise, especially in high-income countries, as global supply chains enable greater consumption.

Construction and demolition

Concrete, metal (steel and aluminium), plastic and wood are among the byproducts of construction and demolition, which generate significant carbon emissions. Construction and demolition account for 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Without action, this number will continue to rise to accommodate an increasingly urbanized global population.

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Air pollution

This refers to emissions from inadequate or nonexistent waste management. Food waste and landfills are notable sources of methane, a greenhouse gas that has a global warming potential 25 times greater than carbon dioxide and hinders ecosystem services. Rapid and unsustainable urbanization, coupled with lagging waste management infrastructure, exacerbates air pollution, which kills 6.7 million people per year. Addressing the waste crisis holistically will enable us to collectively #BeatAirPollution.

Sources

Products

Materials

Impacts of urbanization

Increases in purchasing power and rapid urbanization have significantly changed production and consumption patterns, making a wider range of products more readily available to a larger group of consumers globally.

Urbanization, however, is one of the five main drivers of environmental change.

The equivalent of a city the size of Paris is built every week, and most construction and demolition debris is sent to landfills, disrupting the air, earth and water. The rural-to-urban migration nexus also means transport costs increase as more packaging is needed to safely transport food, medicines and other perishable items long distances. Extra plastic packaging, while used to keep products fresh and temperature-controlled, contributes to large amounts of waste that is often not recyclable.

Waste is broad in scope and originates from many sources. Each source includes multiple product types, which in turn comprise various materials. Unsustainable consumption and production drive growth across all sectors; only when we reconfigure our systems can we overcome the waste pollution crisis.

Waste pollution can be categorized by source, product and material.

Sources

Agriculture

9.78 billion tonnes annually

Solid waste from agriculture includes animal waste, crop husks, sawdust, charcoal and more. To feed a growing population, the agriculture sector has become the second-largest source of methane emissions. Due to agricultural and industrial activities, alongside the mass production of nitrogen-based fertilizers, reactive nitrogen in the environment has more than doubled, amplifying the importance of action to #BeatNitrogenPollution.

Wastewater

411 billion cubic metres annually

From dishwashing to laundry to toilet flushing, households, businesses and industries waste millions of litres of water daily that could be reused to bolster finite water supplies. With proper management, 320 billion cubic metres of pollution-filled wastewater can be purified, yet only 11 per cent of total domestic and industrial wastewater produced is currently being reused.

Chemical and hazardous waste

934 million tonnes annually

Chemical and hazardous waste require specialized treatment and disposal, yet some governments are failing to properly implement adequate management as governed by the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. Chemicals are prevalent in daily life – electronics can contain mercury, cosmetics may have lead and cleaning supplies often have persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Humans use over 100,000 chemical elements and compounds, and chemical sales are projected to almost double from 2017 to 2030. When these products are improperly disposed of, chemicals leak into the environment, contaminating ecosystems and threatening human health. Strengthening chemical and hazardous waste management is at the heart of #BeatChemicalPollution.

Health care

Hospitals produce the bulk of health-care waste, which includes glass, plastic, metal and hazardous chemicals. Single-use medical products are prevalent as they prevent cross-contamination and infections, but improper disposal creates a serious risk of secondary disease transmission. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues as a wave of disposable masks overloaded already limited health-care waste management facilities, especially in urban regions in Africa and Asia.

Sources

Products

Textiles

One garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second. Clothing, footwear, bedding and curtains are among the most common sources of solid waste. The annual cost to consumers of throwing out clothing they could continue wearing is around US$460 billion, and less than 1 per cent of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new items. Textile production is also highly resource-intensive and produces harmful gaseous and liquid waste. The continued impact of fast fashion means that consumers are increasingly likely to buy more clothes but wear them for shorter periods.

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E-waste

54 million tonnes annually

Only 17 per cent of waste generated from electronic products – which can contain glass, metal, plastic and chemicals – is managed properly. Without responsible management, informal workers risk their health when extracting valuable materials from e-waste. For example, liquid crystal displays, known as LCDs, use chemicals that have a global warming potential thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide. Poor e-waste management also results in materials leaking into the environment, contaminating soil and water sources. Technological advancements and increasing accessibility are also fueling a higher turnover of devices. Addressing e-waste is fundamental to ensuring we #BeatChemicalPollution.

Vehicles

Dismantling, recycling and disposing of end-of-life vehicles can cause serious environmental and health hazards, as they contain fluids, glass, metals, plastics, rubber, POPs and other materials. An estimated 80 million vehicles reach their end of service life globally each year, while the global vehicle fleet is set to double to 2.5 billion by 2050. Without urgent action, this will further strain waste management infrastructure, particularly in small island developing states.

Sources

Products

Materials

Food

1.05 billion tonnes annually

One-fifth of food available to consumers is wasted at retail, food service and household level. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources used to produce it – including water, land, energy, labour and capital – go to waste. Food waste contributes to 8–10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Loss and waste also exacerbate food insecurity and can increase food prices.

Plastics

353 million tonnes annually

The convenience and low cost of plastics have fuelled a crisis that costs humanity between US$300 billion and US$600 billion annually. Plastics are ubiquitous in MSW and are commonly used in electronics, textiles and single-use products. Some 85 per cent of single-use plastic bottles, containers and packaging end up in landfills or are mismanaged. The packaging sector is the largest generator of single-use plastic waste in the world, accounting for 36 per cent of all plastic produced. Overall, 46 per cent of plastic waste is landfilled, while 22 per cent is mismanaged and becomes litter. Unlike other materials, plastic does not biodegrade, which contributes to major health impacts as microplastics infiltrate our food and water sources. #beatplasticpollution

What are the implications?

Waste pollution is a cross-cutting issue that disrupts ecosystems' integrity and services, threatens to undermine economic prosperity, and harms human health and well-being.

The impact of poorly managed waste extends across borders, polluting groundwater and surface water, terrestrial ecosystems, livestock and crops, and the air we all breathe. These pollutants bioaccumulate in the food chain and breast milk, potentially resulting in multigenerational consequences. Between 400,000 and 1 million people die in the Global South each year as a result of diseases related to mismanaged waste.

Poverty, limited government resources, and unrestrained urbanization correlate to lower controlled disposal rates, which leaves people in the Central and South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania regions particularly vulnerable:

Municipal solid waste collection rates by region

Costs

Global waste management incurs a total net cost of US$361 billion annually.

Losses come from direct expenditures like operational costs and externalities like ecosystem damage. Recycling offsets these losses and must be scaled up, experts say.

By ending uncontrolled disposal, reducing waste generation, and increasing recycling, humanity can generate an annual net gain of US$108.1 billion from waste management by 2050. This includes economic gains of US$471.1 billion a year from recycling.

Total costs of global waste management by 2050 under different scenarios

Click on the labels to toggle forms of waste management in the chart.

Net cost: US$361 billion

Net cost: US$640.3 billion

Net cost: US$270.2 billion

Net gain: US$108.1 billion

Gender-based discrimination

Waste also disproportionately affects women, as gender-based discrimination prevents representation in decision-making, leadership, and entrepreneurial roles. This means that women extracting hazardous materials from waste in the informal sector are less likely to have access to safety equipment and modern technology. For example, around 4 million to 5 million women and children work in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, which relies on the use of toxic mercury for extraction. Globally, women play a greater role in managing household responsibilities and are thus at increased risk of contracting diseases such as hepatitis, diarrhea and eye and skin infections. Hazardous chemicals can bioaccumulate in women, and may be passed down to children.

How we can
#BeatWastePollution

How we can
#BeatWaste
Pollution

Governments, the private sector and individuals at all levels must take urgent action to comprehensively address the complex and wide-reaching waste pollution crisis.

These are three broad areas of action to pursue:

1. Preventing and minimizing waste 2. Bolstering waste management capacity 3. Adopting a lifecycle approach

By implementing these robust approaches, humanity can limit the global warming potential and human health impacts of waste pollution – including in the informal sector.

Click on the labels to toggle forms of disposal in the chart.

Global warming potential

This is a measure of the impact greenhouse gases produced have on trapping heat in the atmosphere.