Trends and in the decade to come opportunities

The world is facing an environmental emergency that will bring about a climate crisis unless urgent action is taken. The lack of sound waste management is a huge source of pollution, negatively impacting human health. But it doesn’t need to be that way. With proper treatment, waste can be an asset and not a liability.

That is the sentiment of Carlos Silva Filho, president of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). ISWA is an international network of waste professionals and experts from around the world whose mission is to promote and develop sustainable and professional waste management worldwide and to facilitate a just transition to a circular economy.

Speaking at the 25th WasteCon Conference and Exhibition – which took place in October 2022 at Emperors Palace, Gauteng – Filho stressed that the world is reaching a point of no return with global warming, pollution and the degradation of natural resources. He stated that the window of opportunity to implement effective change is fast closing.

“The amount of waste generated is increasing and the impact of this waste pollution will be most felt in developing countries. Waste pollution reflects global inequalities. ISWA has identified some key focal points and trends for the next decade that must be addressed to ensure sustainable management of waste and resources,” said Filho.

A decade of sustainability ISWA’s latest report, titled The Future of The Waste Management Sector: Trends, Opportunities and Challenges for the Decade, was first launched at the closing ceremony of the 2021 ISWA World Congress.

The report represents ISWA’s 10-year outlook and highlights the key issues around the transition to a circular economy, the role waste management will play in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and combatting climate change.

The report is a call to action on how to move forward into the new decade and is a must-read for all industry stakeholders, as well as others involved in any of these spaces. Sustainable waste management will undoubtedly play a fundamental role in achieving a cleaner, healthier planet for everyone.

“ISWA’s vision is an earth where no waste exists. Waste should be reused and reduced to a minimum, then collected, recycled and treated properly. Residual matter should be disposed of in a safely engineered way, ensuring a clean and healthy environment.

“All people on earth should have the right to enjoy an environment with clean air, water, seas and soils. To be able to achieve this, it’s important to know – and anticipate –trends, challenges and opportunities in the coming years – considering the variables that will influence waste generation and its management systems, new social behaviours, production and consumption patterns, and global interactions in terms of communication, development, population growth, commerce and demands.”

Challenges for the decade

Waste is the by-product of daily human activities and it’s expected that municipal solid waste generation will increase all over the world, under a business-as-usual scenario, from around 2 billion tonnes per annum (tpa) generated in 2016 to 3.4 tpa in 2050.

According to those estimates, most of this increase will be seen in low-income countries, where waste generation is expected to triple. ISWA’s report has identified the current challenges within the sector as follows:

• low collection coverage

• lack of safe and proper destination to all the waste generated

• pollution caused by inadequate practices (dump sites, open burning, littering, etc.)

• low demand for secondary raw materials

• harmful/hazardous substances in material’s composition

• lack of funding/minimum required resources.

Focal points of the decade

Filho stressed that, with the drastic increase of municipal waste generation, we need a drastic increase of collection and treatment capacities combined with useful applications for the recovered materials.

These developments will need a significant increase of financing, which, in parallel, will need measures to ensure that the collected funds are really used for the collected purpose, with strong governance, and transparency measures.

Filho added that in mitigating the negative effects of increased waste generation, the waste management industry will become an in-depth, data-driven industry and a central pillar for the future economic role model, based mostly in the circularity and the recovery of goods, materials, chemicals and energy.

“There will also be a great need for exchange of experience and for cooperation to avoid too many shortfalls and failures,” he noted.

The focal points for the decade include:

• the protection of human health and the environment, seeing as it’s the original rationale of waste management and should naturally maintain a fundamental place in any waste management system

• mitigate climate change through waste prevention and recycling initiatives – the effects of waste prevention and recycling offer potential GHG reductions in the magnitude of up to 20% of the global emissions

• drive resource efficiency and promote the circular economy

• to make sure that a reliable, inclusive and transparent governance model is in place – which is a critical component for any successful waste management system

• occupational health and safety must be a priority for the waste business and should be incorporated as part of its culture

• make sure a broad array of treatment technologies and advancements are adopted.

Key messages

In conclusion, Filho stated that the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted how crucial the waste management sector is to all societies, mainly because of the function it plays in public health

and safety. He stressed that for the decade spanning 2021 to 2030, we will need to focus on providing efficient and environmentally sound waste management to all, including collection and treatment services.

“We will need to ensure that all inadequate operations are stopped and shut down immediately. Promote the transition from badly managed dumpsites to well-managed, engineered landfills and make sure that hazardous and harmful substances are phased out and that proper final sinks are available.

“The principles of the circular economy have been put in place; now they need to be implemented. The waste industry will need to be at the heart, as it holds the knowledge on how to mitigate and manage waste materials,” concluded Filho.