Earth Today | Global observance for zero waste approaches
Published:Thursday | March 28, 2024 | 12:07 AM
IT IS now mere days before another celebration of International Day for Zero Waste, observed annually on March 30, as part of efforts to help the world address its growing waste problem.
The day was designated following a United Nations General Assembly resolution, adopted at its 77th session on December 14, 2022. Turkey put forward the resolution, which was sponsored by 105 countries.
“During International Day of Zero Waste, Member States, organisations of the United Nations system, civil society, the private sector, academia, youth and other stakeholders are invited to engage in activities aimed at raising awareness of national, subnational, regional and local zero-waste initiatives and their contribution to achieving sustainable development,” according to information out of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
UNEP co-facilitates the day’s observance along with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
“Promoting zero-waste initiatives through this international day can help advance all the goals and targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goal 11 and Sustainable Development Goal 12. These goals address all forms of waste, including food loss and waste, natural resource extraction and electronic waste,” the UNEP has said.
This year’s observance comes against the background of stunning statistics on global waste generation, revealed by the 2024 Global Waste Management Outlook.
According to that report – titled ‘Beyond an age of waste: Turning rubbish into a resource’ – a whopping 2.1 billion to 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated each year while 2.7 billion people lack access to waste collection.
Municipal waste, the report reminds, is generated wherever there are human settlements.
“It is influenced by each person in the world,with every purchasing decision, through daily practices and in the choices made about managing waste in the home,” it said.
“The way people buy, use and discard materials determines the amount of energy and raw materials used and how much waste is generated. Municipal waste is thus intrinsically linked to the triple planetary crisis [of climate change, pollution and nature loss],” explained the report, which is titled ‘Beyond an age of waste: Turning rubbish into a resource’,” it added.
Included in municipal solid waste is food waste, packaging and household items, such as clothes and electronics. However, there are some other items that make their way into the municipal solid waste stream that are of concern.
According to the report, recently published by UNEP, they include plastics, hazardous chemical waste as well as textiles and end of life vehicles; and warrant attention for collection and overall management.
“The management of municipal solid waste poses unique challenges due to its sheer volume, continual growth, diverse composition,ubiquity in human settlements, variability and influence by cultural change, and the intricate web of social, economic and environmental impacts that arise from its management,” the report said.