UN-Habitat has made a call to all governments, regional and city authorities to join its Waste Wise Cities campaign. The campaign, which was launched during World Habitat Day by Ms. Maimunah Mohd Shariff on October 1, 2018, aims at supporting cities identify gaps in their treatment of rubbish as well as finding interventions that suit the needs of each city.
Nearly 70 cities have signed up to the Waste Wise Cities campaign which is focusing on four key action areas namely knowledge, good practices sharing; waste data and monitoring; advocacy; project development and financing.
The disposal of waste accounts for a large portion of the local government budget and affects public health. Poor solid waste collection and disposal results in uncontrolled dump sites and waste burning resulting in pollution. A change in public attitudes to minimize waste and stop littering, the regularisation of informal waste pickers, increased recycling and reusing, sufficient funding and solid waste planning including adequate landfill sites, can help cities to improve the current state of solid waste management and save money to become ‘Waste Wise Cities’
Globally 2 billion people do not have access to municipal solid waste collection services and 3 billion people lack access to controlled waste disposal facilities. If not addressed now, dumpsites will produce eight to ten percent of the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Original source: UN-Habitat
Published on 28 May 2019
