Solid waste generation rates are rising fast, on pace to exceed 11 million tonnes per day by 2100, urban specialist Dan Hoornweg and his colleagues write in the journal Nature. That level of waste carries serious consequences – physical and fiscal – for cities around the world, in terms of the pressing call for public services, government
budgets, and the space consumed by landfills.
Mexico City's Bordo Poniente and Shanghai's Laogang are receiving more than 10,000 tonnes of waste per day, and the world's more than 2,000 waste incinerators raise concerns about ash disposal and air pollution. Landfills, and uncollected waste, also contribute to climate change through the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Some cities are already setting positive examples for waste reduction. San Francisco, for example, has an ambitious goal of "zero waste" by 2020 with aggressive recycling. About 55 percent of its waste is recycled or reused today. Industries in Kawasaki, Japan, divert 565,000 tonnes of potential waste per year – exceeding the city’s current municipal waste levels.
Mexico City's Bordo Poniente and Shanghai's Laogang are receiving more than 10,000 tonnes of waste per day, and the world's more than 2,000 waste incinerators raise concerns about ash disposal and air pollution. Landfills, and uncollected waste, also contribute to climate change through the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Some cities are already setting positive examples for waste reduction. San Francisco, for example, has an ambitious goal of "zero waste" by 2020 with aggressive recycling. About 55 percent of its waste is recycled or reused today. Industries in Kawasaki, Japan, divert 565,000 tonnes of potential waste per year – exceeding the city’s current municipal waste levels.
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| Sergio Moraes / Reuters |
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