Why is waste management left behind in some countries?
Waste management refers to the activities and actions that are necessary to manage waste from its manufacturing to its disposal. This covers a range of activities and actions including collecting, transporting, treating and disposing of waste along with its overarching monitoring, financing and regulating of the process.
Plastic is an extremely versatile material that is used in so many of our everyday products in a wide range of sectors. Depending on the different types of plastic, this also has different implications on end-of life plastic management. Evidence shows that between 1950–2015, approximately 6300 million tons of plastic waste was generated, however only 9 % ended up being recycled, 12 % incinerated and with the remaining 79 % accumulating in landfills and our natural environment. Furthermore, the situation is getting worse with 5–13 million tonnes of plastic being generated every year. Most of the world’s oceans are heavily polluted.
Plastic pollution warrants global attention. It not only causes significant damage to the natural environment but also poses risk to human health amongst other things. Despite that, due to a myriad of reasons, there is still not enough political attention and resources dedicated to resolving the matter.
Research has also highlighted the importance of improving waste collection services in middle- and low-income countries. It is often the case that in low and middle income countries, where the matter is not as important on the political agenda, the informal sector plays an important role in plastic recycling rate. Some of the reasons why waste management is left behind in many countries include the lack of infrastructure to manage plastic waste, financial resources, management planning, public attitude to participate. This is further exacerbated by international trade restrictions which hinder the trade of plastic waste. The global trade in plastic waste not only helps boost global plastic recycling rates but also increases economic and environment outcomes.
Moreover, political governance and local contexts play a key role in a country’s ability to devote resources to waste management. Factors to consider include whether a country operates on a centralised or decentralised government system along with the different challenges of plastic waste management within urban and rural areas.
To conclude, there is no one size fits all solution to the plastic pollution crisis and country leaders should adopt a system that best suits their country’s context.
Written by Miki Ng, Empower Volunteer in January 2021
#plasticwaste #circulareconomy #empowerplastic #plasticpositive
Sources:
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[5] OECD, 2018. Improving Plastics Management: Trends, policy responses, and the role of international co-operation and trade. OECD ENVIRONMENT POLICY PAPER NO. 12. [online] Available at: <https://www.oecd.org/environment/waste/policy-highlights-improving-plastics-management.pdf>.
