The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the eleventh of which is "Sustainable Cities and Communities", namely: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Under this major goal, there are ten targets, the sixth of which is "By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management".

● Current Situation

About the World

Huge Global Challenges in Waste Disposal

Today, 54 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this proportion is expected to increase to 70 per cent by 2050. This urbanization trend combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to the urban population by 2050. This means that a rapid increase in urban solid waste generation will take place. As urbanization and population growth will continue, it is expected that solid waste generation will double by 2025.

However, many cities are failing in proper collection and transportation as well as environmentally sound treatment and disposal of waste. Global Waste Management Outlook estimated that at least 2 billion people do not have access to regular waste collection. UN-Habitat’s report estimated in Africa, only 10 per cent of the solid waste in poor settlements is collected. Uncollected waste blocks urban drainage resulting in the spread of infectious diseases. Leachate generated in uncontrolled dumpsites pollutes surface and groundwater as well as the coastal environment. Dumpsites located in coastal areas are one of the largest sources of marine litter and plastic pollution. Open dumpsites are also major source of Green House Gases (GHG). If the situation takes on the business as usual scenario then dumpsites account for 8-10 per cent of the global anthropogenic emission by 2025.

Text and photo source: un.org 

About China

Deepening Reform of Waste Management

Photo source:baidu.com

China has attached great importance to solid waste management. In the 1970s, "waste residue" was regarded as the focus of environmental treatment. China has continuously promoted the reduction, recycling and harmlessness of solid waste through the improvement of laws, regulations and standards. In recent years, China has optimized and improved its legal governance system, vigorously promoted the deepening of reform in relevant fields, deployed and implemented the prohibition of foreign garbage, promoted the reform of the solid waste import management system, generally implemented the garbage classification system, and built the pilot "zero waste cities", which has significantly improved the solid waste governance system and capacity.

Text source: cenews.com.cn

●  Cases

About the World

Sydney - Leave Nothing to Waste

Leave Nothing to Waste is our strategy for managing Sydney’s resources to 2030. The City is working to achieve its zero waste target by 2030, with a focus on waste avoidance,reuse and better recycling. The City of Sydney area produces more than 5,500 tonnes of waste every day from homes, offices, at the city’s many venues and events and during construction of buildings and transport infrastructure. To assist with achieving the zero waste targets the City has identified six priority areas:

• promote innovation to avoid waste

• improve recycling outcomes 

• sustainable design

• clean and clear streets

• better data management

• future treatment solutions

Much of this has been achieved through recycling paper and cardboard, other mixed recyclable items such as drink and take away containers and recycling food scraps.Additionally, in separating and recycling food scraps from the general waste stream the general waste stream is kept ‘drier’. This in turn allows for a significant increase in resource recovery from the general waste that is usually sent to landfill. This has been achieved through the City’s new waste collection contractors who own and operate their own resource recovery facility, a facility that can process the‘dry general’ waste into a Resource Derived Fuel (RDF) that can be used in cement kilns. This displaces the use of traditional fossil fuels normally used in cement production. Higher recycling rates and resource recovery from our general dry waste supports the reduction of carbon emissions associated with waste disposal from the City’s buildings.

Text and photo source: Green Report by City of Sydney

About China 

Shenzhen - A Pilot City of Zero Waste

"Zero Waste City" is an advanced urban management concept. It does not mean that there is no solid waste, nor does it mean that solid waste can be fully recycled. It aims to achieve the goal of minimum, full utilization of resources and safe disposal of solid waste. Shenzhen has made positive achievements in achieving the target of "Zero Waste City". From 2019 to 2020, it has successfully set up the framework driven by system, market, technology and supervision, comprehensively improved the utilization and disposal capacity of solid waste, preliminarily formed a green production and life style, and led domestic cities in terms of indicators such as the recycling rate of domestic waste, the intensity of industrial solid waste and the safe disposal system of solid waste. 

Photo source: ecep.ofweek.com

On May 27, 2022, Shenzhen Municipal Commission of Ecological and Environmental Protection issued the Implementation Plan for Building a "Zero Waste City" during the "14th five year plan" period, making every effort to build Shenzhen as a pilot city of resource recycling and waste and carbon reduction. According to the Plan, by 2025, the production intensity of domestic waste and industrial solid waste will "towards to a zero increase", the original domestic waste, municipal sludge, general industrial solid waste and agricultural waste towards zero landfilled, and significant results will be achieved in reducing waste source.

Text source: sznews.com

●  Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiated by the United Nations

On 1 January, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.