The Traces We Leave Waste Management in the 21st Century

did you know

that if we put all of the waste

generated every year in garbage trucks

you could line them up 25 times around

the earth

yeah i did the math want to find out how

so our world currently produces 2

billion metric tons of waste every year

according to the world bank which has

the most reliable numbers in this regard

and your average garbage truck is 10

meters long

and can hold 20 metric tons of waste

according to

average estimates in most countries so

we would need 2 billion divided by 20

that is 100 million trucks to hold all

of this waste

and 100 million trucks in line will

cover a distance

of 1 billion meters or one million

kilometers

now one round around the earth roughly

equals forty thousand kilometers

so the truck can cover the earth one

million kilometers

divided by forty thousand kilometers

that is twenty 25 times

at least good evening ladies and

gentlemen

everyone generates waste but not

everyone thinks about it

each and every action of ours and

everyone else on this planet

leave some trace behind and in our

day-to-day lexicon

we call these traces waste waste is a

daily by-product of our lives

and it impacts everything around us from

our health

to that of other beings and from that of

the environment

to that of the economy if we were to be

more mindful about the waste and the

traces we leave

our planet would be much healthier and

our lives much better

so what can we do about all of this

waste well

we must manage it but how well the first

and golden rule is to always try and

reduce

reuse and or recycle your waste and

preferably in that order

so you should always first try to

prevent or minimize the generation of

waste in the first place

and then if the waste can be reused or

recycled that must be done

most importantly reuse and recycling

must be incentivized

for everyone but with the staggering

amounts of waste that are produced on a

daily basis

not always can be reduced reused and or

recycled

what about other kinds of waste well we

can then try to either recover what we

can

or dispose of it but to make sure we do

this in an environmentally sound manner

the latter part is where most recovery

and disposal options

miss out on thereby creating more

problems

than they solve this order of options

reduce reuse recycle recover

and or dispose is also known as the

waste hierarchy and it forms the

cornerstone of waste management

which itself refers to all of the

activities that deal with waste

from its inception to its final stage

this includes

the collection transportation treatment

and disposal of waste but also the

monitoring

regulation and enforcement of waste

policies

i know all of this sounds very tedious

and boring and it can be

but do you know that the improper

management of waste is increasing

pollution

causing diseases contaminating land and

water

and adversely impacting human and

economic development

across the planet improper management of

waste is also one of the leading causes

of greenhouse gas emissions

leading to catastrophic climate change

across the world

but the good news is that even basic

system improvements can

reduce these emissions significantly and

thus managing these ever increasing

qualities of waste

is critical for a sustainable future for

everyone

i work with black forest solutions in

berlin a specialized environmental

service provider that is committed to

improving waste management strategies

globally

we work with the public private and

non-profit sector to figure out what

waste solutions work best where

and also implement them in economically

and environmentally sound ways

and if there’s one thing we have learned

it’s that there is no one-size-fits-all

solution to our waste wars

in fact in our increasingly complex

interdependent world

where waste is often hyper localized the

best solutions

are the ones that are tailor-made for

and adapted to local

and regional contexts having said that

there are two approaches that are really

turning the waste waves in the 21st

century

first circular economy it’s basically

refers to a system that is aimed at

eliminating waste by continuously

repurposing it

also known as a waste to wealth approach

it encourages society to see waste items

not as worthless but rather as useful

raw materials for other products

in this approach all waste should become

source for another product either as a

by-product or recovered resource for

another industrial process

like plastic waste into roads yes that’s

happening

or as a regenerative resource for nature

like food waste into compost

we all know about that this regenerative

approach is in stark contrast to a

traditional linear economy which has a

take make disposed model of production

and has unleashed untold levels of harm

on our environment

the world’s population is growing and

with it the demand for raw materials

however the supply of crucial raw

materials is limited

therefore the only way to a sustainable

way to a sustainable future

is through a circular economy approach

across the board

circular economy is already on the

agenda of many countries

and it has delivered many benefits to

everyone such as

reducing pressure on the environment

improving the supply security of raw

materials

increasing competitiveness stimulating

innovation

boosting economic growth creating jobs

550 000 jobs in the european union alone

and more on their way second concept

is the extended producers responsibility

based on the polluters pay principle

which entails that those who produce

pollution should bear the costs of

managing it to prevent damage

to human health or the environment epr

requires making manufacturers

responsible

for the entire life cycle of the

products that they manufacture

this also helps shift the burden from

municipalities and taxpayers

to the producers and consumers thus

making it more fair

introduced in 1990 by a swedish

professor

epr had two goals the first was to

address the growing problem of excessive

waste

and the second was to stimulate

environmentally conscious product design

epr helps reduce waste management costs

provide

jobs as well as save resources and

enhance

product reusability and recyclability

contributing to a much more sustainable

way of life

for producers it improves their

environmental credentials

creates a competitive advantage and

strengthens customer loyalty

it has already been introduced by most

developed economies around the world

and is also on its way in most emerging

economies as well

now combining these two approaches

circular economy on one hand and

extended produces responsibility on the

other

let’s imagine a scenario imagine if the

goods of today

became the resources of tomorrow instead

of to throw away and replace

culture that we are used to we adopt a

return and renew culture

where products and components are

designed to be disassembled

and regenerated a culture where we learn

from the regenerative cycle of nature

a culture where we never own any product

or technology

and rather than buying we license them

from producers and once they reach their

end of life

the producers take them back for them to

be reused recycled

and or repurposed what if we could

design

all products to come back to their

makers their technical materials being

reused

and their biological parts increasing

agricultural value

and all of this done and transported

through renewable energy sounds great

right

so here we do have a model that builds

prosperity in the long term

and achieves true sustainability for

each and every person on this

planet all the while making commercial

profit

which is what most producers governments

in industries are worried about in the

first place

the good news is that there are many

companies and governments realizing this

and moving in this direction

the bad news is that they are nearly not

enough

and what’s worse is that we are running

out of time

yes we are now you must be wondering

what you as an individual can do here is

the part

where many would expect me to list down

an all too familiar

list of things and actions that an

individual can take

by managing your waste better by

recycling more by turning off the

electricity by

car pooling cutting down on emissions on

an individual level and the list goes on

etc etc etc

but i won’t because honestly by now we

all know what individuals must do

and if not there are hundreds of

guidelines out there

in every shape way and form encouraging

and advising individuals what they can

do

to help save the planet but what i want

to tell you

is that it is not enough it is

not enough please don’t get me wrong

individual actions are critical

and you must keep doing what you can

especially when it comes to your own

consumption

but if we need real change if we need

transformative change

we require our systems to change

allow me to illustrate my point by

looking at the ongoing

and raging corona virus pandemic that

has wreaked havoc

across the world with much of the world

in lockdown since the past few months

we have never had a clear example of how

changes to individual behavior on the

mass scale can make a difference

if any and as drastically as our lives

have been circumscribed in the recent

months new data actually shows that this

would actually not be enough to save us

from the catastrophic consequences of

climate change

even if it was somehow sustainable for

example

it is estimated that the pandemic could

wind up cutting up to maximum

eight percent of global emissions the

largest annual fall to ever be recorded

but even with such dramatic changes to

the ways we conduct our lives

and eight percent reduction feels like a

poor payoff

and it is climate scientists agree

across the world they do

they say that we need a 20 reduction

annually if we have to have

any hope of avoiding the worst of the

climate crisis

this means every month for the whole

world we have to

live like we did in april during the

lockdown

is that possible i don’t think so

nobody thinks so experts also say that

this comparatively mild and temporary

reduction

shows how desperately we need

comprehensive

environmental policy and systemic change

across the board

to reduce emissions and our traces in a

truly systemic way

and for that we need to turn to the big

hitters

the governments and industries who are

disproportionately responsible

for a majority of the emissions traces

and wastes generated in the first place

again this is not to say that individual

actions

do not have a role to play they do and

they matter

and they have some personal sacrifices

will definitely need to be made by all

of us

but it’s hard to make a lot of planet

fantasy in by individual choices

for example switching to alternatives to

plastic packaging

when the system to do so has not been

put into place

speaking of plastic packaging do you

know that it has gone through the roof

as a result of the corona virus pandemic

and all of them made from virgin plastic

that is

new plastic instead of recycled plastic

why because to be financially

competitive in the marketplace it is

extremely advantageous to package your

goods in newly made

cheap virgin plastic so as the economic

crisis is making the average consumer

more price sensitive

affordable goods are taking precedence

over environmentally friendly ones

since grocery items that come only in

plastic are universally less expensive

those items are the go for many and

while personal protective equipment

like masks and gloves have been the

saving grace for all of us

it’s also contributing to the growing

heaps of plastic waste globally

much of this kind of plastic is not

recyclable and is polluting our oceans

i’m sure you’ve seen a documentary or

two about this

and like other traces this waste is

disproportionately being generated

by a handful of actors and soul 2020 is

on pace to see 30 percent

more waste than 2019 and it’s not like

there is no way around this problem

there is a tax on words in plastic a

take back system

and sustainable product design are all

possible

but unfortunately industries have long

lobbied against it

and governments have told the line

because they are not profitable enough

but at some point we will have to start

putting environment

ahead of the economy and human lives

ahead

of profit the eu however in light of the

recent corona virus pandemic and its

unintended consequences

did introduce attacks on virgin plastics

at 80 cents a kilo

effective from the first january 2021

showing us all that when needed

governments can indeed unite and take

action

even though experts believe that this is

too little and too late

it is a start but more countries and

industries

need to follow suit and move towards a

holistic circular economy

where manufacturers are responsible for

the polluting products that they

generate

if our sustainable actions need to make

their intended impact and save the

planet

we need a system that incentivizes and

rewards sustainable actions

and punishes lack thereof not only for

individuals

but also for governments and industries

as with efforts to control and respond

to a pandemic

strong leadership regulation and

preparedness can make a much bigger

difference than individual habits

in managing our waste and cutting

emissions and they can also prevent

draconian measures of last resort

like limiting our movements and

restricting the economy

the lowered emissions projection for

2020 are based on weakened economic

growth

suppressing that growth instead of

transitioning to a vibrant green economy

would only prolong our troubles

yet investing in green initiatives like

circular economy approaches

could promote growth while keeping

emissions low wouldn’t that be wonderful

we have the solutions we have the tools

we just need institutional will to move

faster towards it

so if you really know what if you really

want to know what you can do

i would ask you to start holding not

only yourself but also your leaders

political and business accountable for

the traces

we leave