With municipal waste set to increase by two-thirds and its cost almost doubling within a generation, only a drastic reduction in waste generation will ensure a liveable and affordable future, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Titled ‘Beyond an age of waste: Turning rubbish into a resource’, UNEP’s Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 (GWMO 2024) provides the most substantial update on global waste generation and the cost of waste and its management since 2018. The analysis uses life cycle assessments to explore what the world could gain or lose through continuing business-as-usual, adopting halfway measures, or committing fully to zero waste and circular economy societies.
