Waste pickers around the globe contribute to a cleaner environment, healthier cities and lower municipal budgets. These vital informal workers (and their families) depend on the availability of recyclable materials to earn income. Open dumps pose environmental and health concerns, but any dump closure must include a comprehensive and articulated approach that addresses the impacts on waste pickers...

The visible impacts of poor waste management have taken hold in the imagination of the public in recent years, with images of illegal dumping and marine litter appearing frequently in the media. However, there is a social element of waste management that is also grabbing the attention of the South African public, and rightly so for the role that they play in South Africa’s waste economy – the info...

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is implementing a 24-month project entitled "Creating the Enabling Conditions for Eliminating Open Burning of Waste Through Regional Roadmaps and City Pilots." The initiative aims to enhance the capabilities of national and local governments to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants from open waste burning. The Royal Academy of Engineering’s E...

Waste incineration is undeniably costly and capital intensive. It is estimated to cost USD 190 million – USD 1.2 billion to build an incinerator with a capacity of processing 1 million tonnes of waste per year. Both capital expenditure and operational expenditure are among the highest for waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration compared to other waste management options such as composting, anaerobic di...

In this report, authors explore the specific benefits that plastics organisations (for-profit start-ups or social enterprises that manage plastic waste collection and recycling) in LMICs currently reap, or could eventually reap, from using digital tools or services or partnering with technology organisations, such as mobile network operators (MNOs). Through desk research and stakeholder interviews...

This report presents a harmonised conceptual framework and indicators for monitoring progress and supporting the implementation of policies that foster a transition towards a more resource efficient and circular economy. Its main purpose is to provide a source of inspiration for countries seeking to build a coherent framework to assess progress towards a circular economy and to support OECD and, w...

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has identified the need for a RegionalWaste Data Collection, Monitoring, and Reporting (DCMR) Framework that provides a standardised approach formonitoring and reporting waste data for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) and the region.The DCMR Framework has been developed to ensure waste data is collected, anal...

This training material on occupational health and safety in waste handling covers the following topics:Occupational Health In Waste HandlingProtective MeasuresEmployers' Responsibilities...

This report takes stock of how and where digital innovation supports circular economy models in waste management. It presents insights from the recently completed GSMA Innovation Fund for Digital Urban Services, which included organisations working on digitalising waste management. These are supplemented with insights from across the ecosystem, with a focus on the start-ups and early-stage compani...

Open waste burning (OWB) is a prevalent waste management practice in many parts of Asia, contributing significantly to air pollution and undermining efforts towards climate mitigation. This paper examines the nexus of waste management, pollution control, and health while providing policy recommendations to address policy gaps and implementation challenges in Asia. This study reviewed OWB policies ...