Sector Outline
UNEP, in collaboration with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), noted in the Global Waste Management Outlook (2015):
‘Inadequate waste management has become a major public health, economic and environmental problem, with 7-10 billion tonnes of urban waste produced each year and 3 billion people worldwide lacking access to controlled waste disposal facilities… Waste management is a basic human need and can also be regarded as a ‘basic human right’. Ensuring proper sanitation and solid waste management sits alongside the provision of potable water, shelter, food, energy, transport and communications as essential to society and to the economy as a whole… Low- and middle-income countries still face major challenges in ensuring universal access to waste collection services, eliminating uncontrolled disposal and burning and moving towards environmentally sound management for all waste. Achieving this challenge is made even more difficult by forecasts that major cities in the lowest income countries are likely to double in population over the next 20 or so years, which is also likely to increase the local political priority given to waste issues. Low- and middle-income countries need to devise and implement innovative and effective policies and practices to promote waste prevention and stem the relentless increase in waste per capita as economies develop.’
The Waste Atlas Partnership is a a crowdsourcing free access map that visualizes municipal solid waste management data across the world for comparison and benchmarking purposes. In its report ‘The world’s 50 biggest active dumpsites’ it is noted:
‘More than half of the world’s population is using dumpsites for waste disposal… Most of dumpsites are located in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Northern Asian countries, namely in areas where more than two thirds of the Earth’s population lives. The sites are historically and physically different. They also differ in size, receive various amounts of waste and host different numbers of people either working at the dumps or living in the surroundings. However, these 50 sites all have at least one thing in common: the serious threat they pose to human health and the environment. They cannot be considered simply as a local problem…Eliminating all such dumpsites around the world must be a priority for the global community.’
Waste Management and Contaminated Land are interwoven issues.
CIWEM notes:
‘Contaminated land is a global issue and many countries have a legacy of contaminated land resulting from historical industrial activity, waste management and from the previous regeneration of land. Contamination is still occurring across the world, due to inadequate or inappropriate operational controls and regulation in industry and in the management of waste. The presence of contamination can represent an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.’
Globally, there is a mosaic of differing practices and achievements along the line of:
No formal waste management and dumping of waste – Formal waste management regulations and practices – Migration towards resource management and waste minimisation
PR Newswire noted in its 2019 report ‘Waste Management Market by Waste Type and Service: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025’:
‘The global waste management market size is expected to reach $530.0 billion by 2025 from $330.6 billion in 2017...Waste management is the collection, transportation, and disposable of garbage, sewage, and other waste products. It involves treatment of solid waste and disposal of products and substances in a safe and efficient manner. The growth of the global waste management market is driven by increase in adoption of proactive government measures to reduce illegal dumping. In addition, surge in population and increased globalization have led to rise in the overall waste volume, worldwide. The urban population produced about 1.3 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2012, which is expected to grow to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025. Moreover, increase in industrialization in the emerging economies, such as India, China, and Taiwan, has led to the development of chemical, oil & gas, automobile, and medical industries, which generate enormous amount of waste and cause pollution. These factors are expected to significantly contribute toward the growth of the global market. However, high cost of procuring and operating waste management solutions is expected to hamper the market growth. Conversely, increase in awareness among public and government agencies about these solutions and upsurge in need to develop waste-to-energy solutions are expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for market players during the forecast period.’
Career and Job Links
UK
Biffa
www.biffa.co.uk/careers
CIWM Apprenticeships
www.ciwm.co.uk/ciwm/apprenticeships/apprenticeships.aspx
Waste Jobs
www.wastejobsuk.com
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA):
www.sepa.org.uk/environment
Natural Resources Wales:
www.naturalresources.wales/?lang=en
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA):
www.doeni.gov.uk
The Environment Agency in England:
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency/about/recruitment
Europe
European Commission – Waste
www.ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/htm
European Environment Agency – Waste Management
www.eea.europa.eu/themes/waste/waste-management
European Parliament News (2018) ‘Waste management in the EU: infographic with facts and figures’
www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20180328STO00751/eu-waste-management-infographic-with-facts-and-figures
Asia
UNEP (2017) ‘Waste Management in ASEAN Countries: Summary Report’
www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/waste-management-asean-countries-summary-report
UNEP, IAT and ISWA ‘Asia Waste Management Outlook (AWMO)’
www.wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/27293/AsiaWMO_Sum.pdf?sequence=1
Hannah Ellis-Petersen, The Guardian UK (2019) ‘Treated like trash: south-east Asia vows to return mountains of rubbish from west’
www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/28/treated-like-trash-south-east-asia-vows-to-return-mountains-of-rubbish-from-west
Andrew McIntyre, Asian Development Blog (2017) ‘Waste management in Asia: 1 goal, 5 cities, 5 lessons’
www.blogs.adb.org/blog/waste-management-asia-1-goal-5-cities-5-lessons
Africa
UNEP (2018) ‘Africa Waste Management Outlook’
www.unenvironment.org/ietc/resources/publication/africa-waste-management-outlook
UNEP (2018) ‘In pictures: How Southern Africa manages its waste’
www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/pictures-how-southern-africa-manages-its-waste
UNEP (2020) ‘A future in recycling: from street waste collector to entrepreneur’
www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/future-recycling-street-waste-collector-entrepreneur
North America
James Hamilton, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Careers in Environmental Remediation, September 2012
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
www.bls.gov/green/environmental_remediation/remediation.htm
Advanced Disposal
www.jobs.advanceddisposal.com
Cleanharbors
www.careers.cleanharbors.com
Republic Services
www.republicservices.jobs
Waste Management
www.careers.wm.com/us/en
South America
UNEP (2018) ‘Waste Management Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean’
www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/waste-management-outlook-latin-america-and-caribbean
UNEP Policy Brief ‘Waste management as an essential service in Latin America and the Caribbean’
www.wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/32615/COVID19_WASTE_LAC.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Public Services International (2017) ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management Services in Latin America’
www.world-psi.org/sites/default/files/documents/research/web_en_lrgm_waste_report_ia_20174.pdf
Oceania
Australian Government – National Waste Policy
www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/national-waste-policy
Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR)
www.wmrr.asn.au
CSIRO (2020) ‘Circular Economy and Waste Management’
www.csiro.au/en/Research/Environment/Circular-Economy
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019) ‘Waste Account, Australia, Experimental Estimates’
www.abs.gov.au/statistics/environment/environmental-management/waste-account-australia-experimental-estimates/latest-release
Global
UN Jobs
www.unjobs.org/themes/waste-management
ISWA
www.iswa.org/iswa/organisation/about-iswa/
Waste Recruit
www.wasterecruit.com
Remondis
www.remondis.com/en/careers
Suez
www.suez.com/en/careers
Veolia
www.veolia.com/en/careers
UNEP, in collaboration with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), noted in the Global Waste Management Outlook (2015):
‘Inadequate waste management has become a major public health, economic and environmental problem, with 7-10 billion tonnes of urban waste produced each year and 3 billion people worldwide lacking access to controlled waste disposal facilities… Waste management is a basic human need and can also be regarded as a ‘basic human right’. Ensuring proper sanitation and solid waste management sits alongside the provision of potable water, shelter, food, energy, transport and communications as essential to society and to the economy as a whole… Low- and middle-income countries still face major challenges in ensuring universal access to waste collection services, eliminating uncontrolled disposal and burning and moving towards environmentally sound management for all waste. Achieving this challenge is made even more difficult by forecasts that major cities in the lowest income countries are likely to double in population over the next 20 or so years, which is also likely to increase the local political priority given to waste issues. Low- and middle-income countries need to devise and implement innovative and effective policies and practices to promote waste prevention and stem the relentless increase in waste per capita as economies develop.’
The Waste Atlas Partnership is a a crowdsourcing free access map that visualizes municipal solid waste management data across the world for comparison and benchmarking purposes. In its report ‘The world’s 50 biggest active dumpsites’ it is noted:
‘More than half of the world’s population is using dumpsites for waste disposal… Most of dumpsites are located in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Northern Asian countries, namely in areas where more than two thirds of the Earth’s population lives. The sites are historically and physically different. They also differ in size, receive various amounts of waste and host different numbers of people either working at the dumps or living in the surroundings. However, these 50 sites all have at least one thing in common: the serious threat they pose to human health and the environment. They cannot be considered simply as a local problem…Eliminating all such dumpsites around the world must be a priority for the global community.’
Waste Management and Contaminated Land are interwoven issues.
CIWEM notes:
‘Contaminated land is a global issue and many countries have a legacy of contaminated land resulting from historical industrial activity, waste management and from the previous regeneration of land. Contamination is still occurring across the world, due to inadequate or inappropriate operational controls and regulation in industry and in the management of waste. The presence of contamination can represent an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.’
Globally, there is a mosaic of differing practices and achievements along the line of:
No formal waste management and dumping of waste – Formal waste management regulations and practices – Migration towards resource management and waste minimisation
PR Newswire noted in its 2019 report ‘Waste Management Market by Waste Type and Service: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025’:
‘The global waste management market size is expected to reach $530.0 billion by 2025 from $330.6 billion in 2017...Waste management is the collection, transportation, and disposable of garbage, sewage, and other waste products. It involves treatment of solid waste and disposal of products and substances in a safe and efficient manner. The growth of the global waste management market is driven by increase in adoption of proactive government measures to reduce illegal dumping. In addition, surge in population and increased globalization have led to rise in the overall waste volume, worldwide. The urban population produced about 1.3 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2012, which is expected to grow to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025. Moreover, increase in industrialization in the emerging economies, such as India, China, and Taiwan, has led to the development of chemical, oil & gas, automobile, and medical industries, which generate enormous amount of waste and cause pollution. These factors are expected to significantly contribute toward the growth of the global market. However, high cost of procuring and operating waste management solutions is expected to hamper the market growth. Conversely, increase in awareness among public and government agencies about these solutions and upsurge in need to develop waste-to-energy solutions are expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for market players during the forecast period.’
Career and Job Links
UK
Biffa
www.biffa.co.uk/careers
CIWM Apprenticeships
www.ciwm.co.uk/ciwm/apprenticeships/apprenticeships.aspx
Waste Jobs
www.wastejobsuk.com
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA):
www.sepa.org.uk/environment
Natural Resources Wales:
www.naturalresources.wales/?lang=en
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA):
www.doeni.gov.uk
The Environment Agency in England:
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency/about/recruitment
Europe
European Commission – Waste
www.ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/htm
European Environment Agency – Waste Management
www.eea.europa.eu/themes/waste/waste-management
European Parliament News (2018) ‘Waste management in the EU: infographic with facts and figures’
www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20180328STO00751/eu-waste-management-infographic-with-facts-and-figures
Asia
UNEP (2017) ‘Waste Management in ASEAN Countries: Summary Report’
www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/waste-management-asean-countries-summary-report
UNEP, IAT and ISWA ‘Asia Waste Management Outlook (AWMO)’
www.wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/27293/AsiaWMO_Sum.pdf?sequence=1
Hannah Ellis-Petersen, The Guardian UK (2019) ‘Treated like trash: south-east Asia vows to return mountains of rubbish from west’
www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/28/treated-like-trash-south-east-asia-vows-to-return-mountains-of-rubbish-from-west
Andrew McIntyre, Asian Development Blog (2017) ‘Waste management in Asia: 1 goal, 5 cities, 5 lessons’
www.blogs.adb.org/blog/waste-management-asia-1-goal-5-cities-5-lessons
Africa
UNEP (2018) ‘Africa Waste Management Outlook’
www.unenvironment.org/ietc/resources/publication/africa-waste-management-outlook
UNEP (2018) ‘In pictures: How Southern Africa manages its waste’
www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/pictures-how-southern-africa-manages-its-waste
UNEP (2020) ‘A future in recycling: from street waste collector to entrepreneur’
www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/future-recycling-street-waste-collector-entrepreneur
North America
James Hamilton, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Careers in Environmental Remediation, September 2012
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
www.bls.gov/green/environmental_remediation/remediation.htm
Advanced Disposal
www.jobs.advanceddisposal.com
Cleanharbors
www.careers.cleanharbors.com
Republic Services
www.republicservices.jobs
Waste Management
www.careers.wm.com/us/en
South America
UNEP (2018) ‘Waste Management Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean’
www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/waste-management-outlook-latin-america-and-caribbean
UNEP Policy Brief ‘Waste management as an essential service in Latin America and the Caribbean’
www.wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/32615/COVID19_WASTE_LAC.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Public Services International (2017) ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management Services in Latin America’
www.world-psi.org/sites/default/files/documents/research/web_en_lrgm_waste_report_ia_20174.pdf
Oceania
Australian Government – National Waste Policy
www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/national-waste-policy
Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR)
www.wmrr.asn.au
CSIRO (2020) ‘Circular Economy and Waste Management’
www.csiro.au/en/Research/Environment/Circular-Economy
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019) ‘Waste Account, Australia, Experimental Estimates’
www.abs.gov.au/statistics/environment/environmental-management/waste-account-australia-experimental-estimates/latest-release
Global
UN Jobs
www.unjobs.org/themes/waste-management
ISWA
www.iswa.org/iswa/organisation/about-iswa/
Waste Recruit
www.wasterecruit.com
Remondis
www.remondis.com/en/careers
Suez
www.suez.com/en/careers
Veolia
www.veolia.com/en/careers
