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Towards a green economy
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120
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100
1998
Figure 6: Trend in GDP and packaging waste growth from 1998 to 2007 in EU15
Source: EEA (2009)
Index: 1990=100
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
is a major source of new and complex hazardous waste
additions to MSW.
Globally, UNEP and UNU estimate that 20 to 50 million
tonnes of e-waste are disposed of each year, which accounts
for 5 per cent of all MSW. E-waste also has a significant role
to play in the recycling sector in developing countries even
though it is not necessarily generated in those countries.
With sales of electronic products in China and India and
across Africa and Latin America predicted to rise sharply in
the next ten years, the challenge is only set to grow (UNEP
and UNU 2009).
Adding to the complexity of waste streams is the impact
of increasing trade on waste. Lack of information on the
constituents of waste products, such as valuable raw
materials and toxic pollutants, makes trading of such
waste challenging and risky. There have been increasing
packaging requirements to minimise damage to goods
in transit. Packaging requirements have also increased
to meet the tightened food health and safety standards.
Figure 6 shows the steady increase in packaging waste
coinciding with rising GDP in EU15 from 1998 to 2007. As
this trend of increasing trade and packaging continues, so
will the increase in the absolute generation of packaging
waste and complexity of the MSW streams.
The waste problem has been accentuated by the issue
of waste trafficking. Several developed countries have
been illegally dumping hazardous waste and exporting
significant quantities of used electrical and electronic
2. It may, however, be noted that the export of used electronic products
is legal if the importing country has a sufficient recycling infrastructure to
deal with these wastes.
Total packaging waste generation
GDP growth rate
Packaging waste generation (glass, metals, paper, plastics)
products to developing countries that do not have adequate
infrastructure to manage them. Such illegal shipments are
a matter of global concern. The Basel Convention requires
its members to report the aggregated numbers, but there
is ambiguity in the available data on hazardous shipments
and difficulty in dealing with illegal activities. Another issue
is the difficulty in classifying used electronic or electrical
products as second-hand products and hazardous waste.
These shortcomings heighten the threat that the hazardous
waste poses to the environment and human health. 2
Health and environment risks
The increasing volume and complexity of waste poses
serious risks to human health and the environment. These
risks are most obvious in situations where waste collection
and treatment is insufficient or even absent but can also
occur in situations where collection and treatment methods
are already established. In industrialised countries, despite
progress on sanitary landfill technology and incineration,
and the control of direct human exposure to the waste
at the related facilities, there are concerns over wastedisposal-related
syndromes. While few studies exist, many
health indicators have been considered in epidemiological
research for health impacts from landfill sites and older
incinerators, including cancer incidence, mortality, birth
defects and low birth weight (WHO 2007). Protests over
waste facilities in developed countries are now more
than a simple Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) reaction. Local
residents often reject landfills and incinerators because of
fears over health and safety and mistrust of the authorities
to ensure that minimum safety or environmental protection
standards are enforced. A related problem is the falling
property values or the loss of livelihoods (e.g. related to
agriculture, tourism) around landfill areas.