Circular Economy
Solid Waste Management
The collection, treatment and disposal of solid waste — a basic service whose failure pollutes land, rivers and oceans.
Definition
Solid waste management is the system of generation control, storage, collection, transport, processing and disposal of solid waste, organised under the waste hierarchy (prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, disposal). Around two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated annually, projected to rise sharply; in many low-income cities less than half is collected, and open dumping and burning remain common, driving plastic leakage to oceans, methane emissions and public health harm.
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