UNEP released Global Waste Management Outlook

The Global Waste Management Outlook was released on 7 September 2015 in the Belgium capital Antwerp. It was a first of its kind report on waste management at the global level.

It was jointly prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).

The purpose of the report is to generate awareness among policy makers and public in general about different sources of wastes, their impact on health and environment and finally, solutions to mitigate the associated problems.

Highlights of Global Waste Management Outlook

• Total global arisings of municipal solid waste (MSW) is around 2 billion tonnes per annum.
• A broad grouping of ‘urban’ wastes, including MSW, commercial and industrial (C&I) waste, and construction and demolition waste (C&D), is estimated at around 7 to 10 billion tonnes per annum.
• Around 3 billion people worldwide lacking access to controlled waste disposal facilities.
• Extending MSW collection to 100% of the urban population is a public health priority and eliminating uncontrolled disposal is a priority for protecting the environment.
• E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream all around the world due to increased consumer demand, perceived obsolesce, and rapid changes in technology and inventions of new electronic devices.
• A 2015 report by the United Nations University (UNU) estimated that 41.8 million tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was generated in 2014, almost 25% more than the 2010 figure of 33.8 Mt.
• Major constituents of e-waste are: rare earth metals like lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, gadolinium and dysprosium; precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium; or other metals such as copper, aluminium or iron, which have a high intrinsic value.
• The 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- should be employed to transform the problem of waste into a resource for economies.
• It also calls for a major shift away from the linear take-make-use-waste economy and towards the circular reduce-reuse-recycle approach to the lifecycle of materials.

Report with respect to India

• It identified India as one of the major dumping sites in the world as it has become a major destination for unused ship breaking, outsourcing polluting industries, etc.
• It surveyed various sources of waste in urban areas including waste generated from hospitals, industries and household.
• It cautioned India about the growing tendency of increasing per capita waste generation as a negative consequence of improving life style and economic development.

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