International Waste Management - Crisis And Opportunity.

David Brown

A picture of crisis – Lebanon 2009

A picture of crisis – Italy 2014

A picture of crisis – Bangalore 2012

A picture of crisis – Purfleet (Essex) 2015

Why the waste crisis?• Rising population and growing incomes = increased consumption/discard of

materials.

• Effective waste management systems often lag the growth.

• Short term denial of costly solutions is an easier option for decision makers.

• Conflict and political chaos.

• Rush for GDP growth often trumps other concerns.

• Often informal and possibly chaotic waste management systems are swamped by growth.

• Problems can appear slow motion so it is human nature to delay hard decisions.

• Discarded materials and products gradually accumulate in local and then the global environment but the costs are often externalised.

• Recycling cynicism is quite common even in the UK.

Impacts of the crisis. • Adverse impacts on human health includes increased incidence Diarrhea,

respiratory ailments, Dengue Fever, chemical poisoning, stress.

• Accumulations of waste can block drainage channels and exacerbate flooding.

• Waste makes 4% contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions with landfills contributing 12% to global methane emissions.

• Loss of valuable land space.

• Unquantified but potentially large effects on marine life and ocean systems.

• Pollution of ground, surface and drinking waters.

• Theft of resources from the future with near term implications.

• Increased economic volatility and wild swings in commodity prices.

• Shameful legacy.

Oil prices since 1980

Waste growth projections

Affluence = waste ?

• Waste generation per capita is 4 times higher in OECD countries compared with African countries.

• Today urban India produces just a little more waste than urban Britain but has a population almost 6 times as large.

• By 2025 US waste production will still be almost double that of India’s despite a population of 1 billion less people.

• Rapid growth in China means that country will produce about twice as much waste as the US by 2025 but still that is 1/3rd less per capita.

• The cost of managing waste globally is predicted at £375.5 billion per annum by 2025. That is enough to end extreme poverty the world over according to Oxfam.

• For low and middle income countries solid waste management is the single largest budget item for cities.

Putting waste in context.

Variations in waste management systems.

Landfill recycled WTE Dump Compost Other0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Disposal methods of worldwide MSW in millions of tonnes

OECD MENA Lac ECA EAP SAR AFR0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Waste Collection Rates By Region % of MSW collected

Why your decisions matter so much

High Income Upper Middle

Lower Middle

Low Income0

50

100

150

200

250

300

MSW Disposal by income total

Dumps Landfills compost recycled incineration other

High Income Upper Middle Lower Middle Low Income0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70MSW Disposal by Income % breakdown

Dumps Landfills Compost Recycled Incineration Other

Waste management system characteristics.

• OECD countries recycle more of much.

• Lowest income countries recycling very little of hardly anything.

• Many more countries are now moving toward western levels of waste production but without proper waste management systems.

• Small numbers of countries may make a perfect transition.

OECD type have consumed the

most now recycling more

Middle IncomeNow consuming more, wasting

more and racing to catch up

economically

War TornCountries in or emerging from

waste crisis

Lowest IncomeStill consuming

virtually nothing per head

Waste management opportunities.

• Improvement to waste management systems normally brings improvements to human well-being, employment conditions, environmental protection, wider cost reductions and higher incomes.

• The world market for recyclable waste is estimated at $410 billion.

• Preventing food waste could save the UK £12 billion a year and $750 billion per annum globally.

• In the US, 1.1 million people are employed in re-use or recycling establishments earning higher than average wages.

• Producing aluminum from recycled aluminum results in a 95% energy saving and recycling just 1 can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours.

• In the US, 1.1 million people are employed in re-use or recycling establishments and are earning higher than average wages.

• Home composting saves Derbyshire tax payers at least £250,000 per year and recycling saves the county well over £ 8 million a year compared with landfill.

Reasons to be cheerful– 1,2,3

1 Pune India

Pre-2008 an over-stretched municipal and dangerous informal system was challenged by the waste pickers who organised to form a cooperative.

Now has better recycling rates, worker incomes and environmental conditions.Triumph of determined community action and key individuals.

2 Alaminos - Philippines

Pre-2010 widespread fly- tipping and burning in the countryside threatening the marine environment and tourism.

Now – NGO in partnership with village leaders creates small-scale composting and introduced separate collections of organic wastes. Amazing communityengagement achieved and businesses and tourist facilities participating. Plastics recycled to improve paved areas and waste workshops well attended.

3 Taiwan

Late 1980s planning for waste crisis as landfill space ran out and massive programme of incineration proposed. Faced fierce community opposition. Situation deteriorated until 2003 when a Zero Waste policy adopted.

Now miraculous disconnection of GDPgrowth from waste. GDP rose 50% between 2000 and 2010 but total wastefell from 8.7 million to 7.95 million tonnes. A 12.8% per capita fall.

Think about it ! Could the wires on his head be recovered into the chain of commercialutility?

The success of future waste management systems will rely primarily on the trillions of individual decisions and actions.

Tactically nudge/talk about it. The power

of inertia is enormous there are many people who should know better that don’t recycle. Emphasise relevance to them.

Choose your tactics. In the UK a big barrier is the belief that recycling is not recycled.

Take action – but how?

Favourable tailwinds • Widespread corporate and business action to minimise costs and respond to

stakeholder and customer pressure or gain market share.

• The rise of community awareness and action groups.

• Requirements of legislation such as EU Directives driving producer responsibility on a wide variety of waste streams.

• Rise of voluntary agreements such as the Courtald Commitment.

• Pressure to gain accreditation such as ISO systems.

• Customer expectation and enquiry can and is driving change – arguably too slow though.

• Great waste minimisation examples are set others following.

• UK waste arisings in 2004 were 526 million tonnes. In 2010 -177 million tonnes.

Conclusion

The world is at a turning point and in the right lane – just !

Thanks For Listening