City dwellers will produce 1.42 kg of trash per day by 2025
By 2025, 4.3 billion living in cities throughout the planet will generate about 1.42 kg/capita/day of municipal solid waste, which will create a huge environmental and financial burden for the local governments tasked with managing it.
Untreated solid waste emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and chemicals from plastic and other packaging leach into waterways. The World Bank sites untreated waste as one of the major causes of pollution in developing countries that are ill-equipped to handle mounting waste.
Global management of solid waste could cost as much as $375 billion each year, according to the report’s authors, who add that this is a “relatively silent problem that is growing daily.”
We’ve seen children running through toxic trash piles in the souqs of Tunis and we have watched families eat their lunch in so-called green spaces in Cairo, surrounded by coke cans, koshari packaging and other waste.
A major wake up call
While many people have grown blind to the problem, the World Bank urges policymakers to consider the report as a major wake up call. More
World Bank Report: What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management
