Waste generation drivers. An overview

 

Waste generation has significantly changed over time. Prior to industrial revolution waste wasn’t considered as a global problem, due to the organic nature of the waste and population’s attitude towards waste (reuse, repair - longer lifecycle of items). This has changed rapidly due to key factors driving this process: mentioned above industrial revolution, population growth and standard of living.

Industrial revolution

During industrial revolution resources were being used at huge rate, adding to the growing number of pollutants in the atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide began to increase, and it has been on a rise ever since. Mass production and industrialisation changed the landscape of towns and cities and created a new standard of living.

Population growth

With rapid urbanisation cities began to grow, allowing people to travel to find work. Since the industrial revolution the global population increased from 1 to over 8 billion people. This created a set of problems, one being food demand and its ecological impact such as deforestation. The sheer amount of waste created due to the shift from organic waste to single used plastic for example, highlights another challenge. It is estimated that less than 20% of waste is recycled every year with huge quantities of waste being sent to landfills. This generates huge amount of emission of nitrogen and other harmful chemicals into the atmosphere.

Standard of living

Richer, more developed countries produce and will continue to produce the most waste. This is triggered by widespread of single use of plastic as convenient packaging, increase in number of consumer electronic goods and its short life cycle driven by commercialism. The rise of throw away culture such as fast fashion and huge amount of food waste in rich countries.