Report: Harmful Waste Creation Set to Increase
2024-03-02
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1The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report on Wednesday that public waste creation will greatly increase by 2050.
2The rise will cause hundreds of billions of dollars of damage through biodiversity loss, climate change, and deadly pollution, UNEP reports.
3UNEP's Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 says worldwide waste creation would greatly increase unless governments take urgent preventative measures.
4The world's fastest-growing economies will drive much of the increase in waste.
5These include some countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa that are already struggling to deal with current public waste levels.
6The report predicts municipal solid waste generation will grow from 2.3 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.
7UNEP projected the yearly cost of waste treatment by the middle of the century would rise to $640 billion worldwide.
8That represents a more than 75 percent increase from 2020.
9That year, the world produced an estimated 2.1 billion tonnes of public solid waste, which excludes industrial waste.
10Damage caused by the growing waste would account for about $443 billion of the total cost.
11The report, called Beyond an Age of Waste: Turning Rubbish into a Resource, was released during the U.N. Environment Assembly in Kenya this week.
12The writers argue that humanity has "moved backwards" over the past ten years.
13They say humans are creating more waste, more pollution, and more climate changing gases.
14Waste prevention measures and improved waste treatment could reduce those costs, the report said.
15But it notes, there are major barriers to such reforms, including weak enforcement systems.
16Negotiators are working toward a treaty to deal with the especially damaging and dangerous pollution from plastics.
17They are beginning a fourth round of talks in April.
18UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said she is hopeful they will complete the agreement by the end of this year.
19Environmentalists and fossil fuel producers continue to disagree about the terms of the agreement.
20They especially dispute whether the deal should center on reducing plastics production or increasing recycling and re-use.
21"There is an interest, and especially among the countries that are producing raw polymer, but as I keep telling them, this is not an anti-plastic treaty,"
22Andersen told Reuters, noting there would still be a need for plastics in vehicles and medical equipment.
23Raw polymers are used in the creation of plastic materials.
24Andersen said she hopes no delegations would work to block progress on the treaty, but instead "find a way forward that actually takes into account the fact that we are drowning in plastic."
25I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report on Wednesday that public waste creation will greatly increase by 2050. The rise will cause hundreds of billions of dollars of damage through biodiversity loss, climate change, and deadly pollution, UNEP reports. 2UNEP's Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 says worldwide waste creation would greatly increase unless governments take urgent preventative measures. The world's fastest-growing economies will drive much of the increase in waste. These include some countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa that are already struggling to deal with current public waste levels. 3The report predicts municipal solid waste generation will grow from 2.3 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050. UNEP projected the yearly cost of waste treatment by the middle of the century would rise to $640 billion worldwide. That represents a more than 75 percent increase from 2020. That year, the world produced an estimated 2.1 billion tonnes of public solid waste, which excludes industrial waste. 4Damage caused by the growing waste would account for about $443 billion of the total cost. 5The report, called Beyond an Age of Waste: Turning Rubbish into a Resource, was released during the U.N. Environment Assembly in Kenya this week. The writers argue that humanity has "moved backwards" over the past ten years. They say humans are creating more waste, more pollution, and more climate changing gases. 6Waste prevention measures and improved waste treatment could reduce those costs, the report said. But it notes, there are major barriers to such reforms, including weak enforcement systems. 7Negotiators are working toward a treaty to deal with the especially damaging and dangerous pollution from plastics. They are beginning a fourth round of talks in April. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said she is hopeful they will complete the agreement by the end of this year. 8Environmentalists and fossil fuel producers continue to disagree about the terms of the agreement. They especially dispute whether the deal should center on reducing plastics production or increasing recycling and re-use. 9"There is an interest, and especially among the countries that are producing raw polymer, but as I keep telling them, this is not an anti-plastic treaty," Andersen told Reuters, noting there would still be a need for plastics in vehicles and medical equipment. 10Raw polymers are used in the creation of plastic materials. 11Andersen said she hopes no delegations would work to block progress on the treaty, but instead "find a way forward that actually takes into account the fact that we are drowning in plastic." 12I'm Gregory Stachel. 13Aaron Ross reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 14________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16biodiversity - n. the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in an environment 17fossil fuel - n. a fuel (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) that is formed in the earth from dead plants or animals 18recycle - v. to make something new from (something that has been used before)