Waste management has an important role to play in climate action, both at the national and local levels. Climate finance and the digitalisation of the sector are key to moving towards a zero waste model.
The waste sector is directly responsible for around 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is a fact stated in the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of 2013. That statement by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) led to a common perception that waste and resource management has little weight in overall emissions and therefore contributes minimally to mitigating the climate crisis.
But this perception is far from reality. As we will discuss in this article, the impact of proper waste management and improved resource efficiency on climate change mitigation is significant. If we take into account indirect emissions and the potential benefits in terms of greenhouse gas savings, the overall influence of waste control activities on the balance of GHG emissions is very relevant.
AR5 is based on 2010 data. And according to IPCC AR6, which uses 2019 data, the figure is similar: waste management contributes 3.32 % of GHG emissions. At the national level, according to data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) from the same year, waste accounts for 4.3% of emissions in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq). But let's look back in time and see the "work behind" to reach these figures.
Around 90% of the waste sector's direct contribution to global warming is methane (CH4) from the anaerobic degradation of organic waste deposited in landfills. According to data from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), CH4 is a potent greenhouse gas, with a warming power more than 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2) during the twenty years following its release into the atmosphere.
In the early 1970s, the first environmental legislation was introduced in high-income countries, which increased the degree of control of solid waste in landfills. Early operational controls (confining, compacting, covering) led to anaerobic disposal sites, thus increasing CH4 generation. Later, gas collection led to significant climate mitigation. Environmentally sound management recovered energy from the gas, offsetting already mitigated GHG emissions.
All of these environmental controls were complemented from the 1990s onwards by measures to divert bio-waste from landfill . Thus, the 3% direct GHG emissions from the sector reflect more than three decades of effective mitigation efforts by many high-income countries. Such a percentage contribution from solid waste management is the result of more than three decades of improved landfill control and diversion of waste to other management methods.
Today, solid waste management is progressing towards a circular economy, with an emphasis on recovery. Following the waste hierarchy, as defined in Directive 2008/98/EC, as a guiding principle favors activities with the lowest GHG impact. Prioritising prevention, then reuse, recycling, waste recovery and ultimately disposal not only leads to major emissions savings, but also turns waste into valuable resources.
There is currently a lack of access to municipal solid waste (MSW) collection for 2.7 billion people and almost 40% of the waste collected ends up in uncontrolled disposal or is openly burned. To meet Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities, and particularly target 11.6 which calls for special attention to municipal waste management to reduce the negative environmental impact of cities by 2030, we must make MSW collection extensible to all and phase out landfills and open burning.
Achieving target 11.6 will reduce methane generation and contribute to climate change mitigation (SDG 13: Climate Action) . Reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse activities (target 12.5) will prevent waste from reaching landfills. Addressing this situation will also have benefits for other SDGs, such as preventing marine pollution (target 14.1) by reducing the amount of plastic waste reaching the ocean.
Reducing food waste in production chains (target 12.3) will also help end hunger (SDG 2). Local benefits include public health (SDG 3) and the environment (target 6.3: improve water quality by eliminating landfills). Separating the organic fraction at source and collecting it separately as clean feedstock for recycling will promote sustainable, local and small-scale food production (targets 2.3 and 2.4), as well as job creation (target 8.5).
Actions are needed to divert waste from landfill through source separation that increases recycling rates of organic waste, as well as landfill degassing and energy recovery from gas. But the costs of services to meet target 11.6, even the most basic, are unaffordable for many cities in developing countries. A united approach is needed, with all actors (national, local, waste producers, etc.) working together to find solutions.
In this regard, climate finance has an essential role to play. The international community must recognise the global benefits of climate finance to support the transition to sustainable MSW management practices. In addition, local cost recovery should be complemented by revenues from extended producer responsibility schemes. The international community should recognise the global benefits of climate financing to support the transition to sustainable MSW management practices.
As for the higher income countries, there is a need to move from waste "problem" to waste "opportunity" through a digital transformation. The future of waste management lies in digitalisation. The digitalisation of the waste value chain poses an immense horizon for growth.
All actors in the chain, from organisations that generate waste as a result of their activities to waste managers, have a great ally in technology to optimise their resources, minimise their environmental risks and reduce their GHG emissions. But this is still a pending issue for many states, including our own.
A report on the digitalisation of the waste sector in Spain by TEIMAS revealed that, despite the environmental and economic benefits of digitalisation, less than 30% of the more than 500 companies surveyed used specialised software for their activity. With regard to waste-producing companies, according to another TEIMAS study in which 265 large corporations were consulted, only 16% claim to have a digital solution for waste treatment.
We need actions that ensure better waste management for all, as well as greater resource efficiency. The new development model is based on a circular and carbon-neutral economy. Digital technology will lead us to intelligent management, which in addition to improving data quality, automating information flows and traceability or ensuring compliance with current legislation, will help to develop effective zero waste and climate change mitigation policies.
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