Waste

A big problem modern society are facing these days, is the enormous amount of generated waste. Especially cities with many inhabitants are producing a huge amount of waste and the trend is rising, due to an increase in the consumption of the population. It is expected that close to 70 per cent of the global population will be living in urban areas by 2050. Currently, solid waste landfills in and around cities are contributing to high levels of air pollution, which has a negative effect on the health of millions of people around the world. Additionally, as global population growth is increasing rapidly, the consumption of resources for material goods is skyrocketing. This creates an urgent need for us to rethink the way we dispose of waste in the cities.

The problems, resulting of bad waste management should not be underestimated. The endangerment of ecosystems like the sea by littering, the production of greenhouse gases that are accelerating the climate change or the loss of material are just some of the immense ecological problems occurring. The challenge of a smart and circular city is to minimize such issues by a well-working waste management and policy (European Environment Agency (2014)).

A circular city has to give a framework for a waste management that is sustainable. Legal restrictions and the motivation of citizens to contribute are ways to positively affect the waste management to shift the city to a “zero waste city”. Urban waste also represents a largely untapped source of recyclable materials for production, reusable goods as well as a source of both heat and electricity when properly utilised in efficient waste-to-energy plants. Along with the numerous environmental and health issues caused by our consumption and disposal patterns, this must be addressed to help shape the liveable and sustainable cities of tomorrow.

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