No time to waste

Our waste production is a big problem all over the world. In 2012 we generated 1.3 billion tons of waste per year. This amounts to 1.2 kilograms of waste per person per day! The production of waste is expected to rise to 2.2 billion tons by 2025.

Urban problem
Of course, a distinction can be made between developed countries and developing countries. In developing countries, waste is often disposed of at unregulated landfill sites or burnt openly. This leads to serious consequences for health, safety and the environment. Poorly managed waste serves as a breeding ground for disease vectors and contributes to global climate change through methane formation.

However, waste is usually an urban phenomenon in developed countries. An urban resident generates twice as much waste as their national counterpart of the same prosperity. If we take into account that city dwellers are usually richer, they generate four times as much.

As urbanization increases, global waste production increases. In 1900 the world had 220 million inhabitants of the city (13% of the population). They produced less than 300,000 tons of waste (such as broken household items, ash, food waste and packaging) per day. In 2000, 2.9 billion people living in cities (49% of the world’s population) created more than 3 million tonnes of waste per day. In 2025 this will be twice – enough to fill 5000 trucks every day with refuse trucks!

So, managing waste properly is not only essential for building sustainable and livable cities, but also for the environment and the global climate change. However, effective waste management is expensive, often comprising 20%–50% of municipal budgets. This is why we all have to contribute to a better waste management.

What does Recypack do with waste production? Recypack separates its waste. The cardboard, foil, chemical waste and residual waste are collected separately in the warehouse. The cardboard and foil is recycled. The residual waste is collected and processed. And finally, the chemical waste is donated.

This way we contribute to a healthier and cleaner environment for both humans and animals.

Used sources: World bank, and Journal Nature.

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