Improving waste recycling occupies a special place among operational methods to combat global warming and greenhouse gasses. Significant gains are expected in emerging countries where recycling of small-scale household waste is often poorly organised, as a recent German study demonstrates. In tandem with
Improving waste recycling occupies a special place among operational methods to combat global warming and greenhouse gasses. Significant gains are expected in emerging countries where recycling of small-scale household waste is often poorly organised, as a recent German study demonstrates. In tandem with the development of collection systems and organized recycling, local start-ups and NGOs are inventing new and promising models.
Although OECD countries still have work to do when it comes to increasing their household waste recycling rates and thus reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, this is also true for developing or newly industrialized countries. This was the takeaway from a study led by the Institute of Applied Ecology and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU), on behalf of the Federal German Agency for the Environment (UBA). Its authors were especially interested in India and Egypt where a majority of waste ends up in landfills cannot address leaks or gas pollution. In India, reportedly 80% of the 234 million metric tons of waste will go to landfills, generating some 55 million tons of CO2 emissions annually.
To reduce waste-related greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations Environment Programme has identified 3 approaches : (1) enco