You and I can drive change in solid waste Management.

Managing solid waste is one of the biggest challenges facing our environment. Even though, we and our governments may pay little or no attention to it, the adverse effect on our environment is weighty especially in developing countries. The presence of uncontrolled dump sites at every corner of our roads posing challenges to lives and environment is admissive evidence. According to (ISWA, 2015), the 50 biggest dumpsites affect the daily lives of 64 million people”.?

There are several types of pollution originating from dumpsites which adversely impact our health and environment:

1.Air Pollution

i. Through the decomposition of organic waste, methane and other gases are emitted, which degrade Ozone layers, affect the informal recyclers, emitted, which degrade Ozone layers, affect the informal recyclers and inhabitants.

ii. Through the traditional means of reducing waste at dumpsites, open burning of waste materials also emits dangerous substances to the air and increase concentration of air pollutants.

iii. Methane, which is highly flammable can lead to a damaging explosion as the generation from dumpsites is not been controlled.

iv. Dumpsites are usually sources of bad odour and dust.

2. Water, Marine and coastal pollution

When waste materials undergo decomposition, a liquid like object containing biological and chemical constituents of the waste is produced called Leachate via water from rainfall, surface drainage, groundwater, etc. percolating through solid waste. Leachate contains dissolved and suspended materials from dumpsites which may contaminate surface and groundwater either through flow paths or direct contact with water.

3. Soil pollution

Heavy metals and other contaminants are usually retained in the soils beneath dumpsites and do result in soil contamination. Contaminants such as Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn can significantly alter soil chemistry with high negative impact on soil organisms and plants.

4. Diseases

Open dumpsites are favourite breeding grounds for vermin, flies and other disease carrying insects and organisms. Fauna in and around the dumpsites may be infected by direct consumption of contaminated food or water.

Solid waste management has huge impact on the Millennium Development Goals and related targets for water and sanitation. Examples of how we can we help achieve some of these goals are

1.????No poverty:

Poverty as defined by Investopedia is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. According to World Bank, about 9.2% of the world, or 689 million people, live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 a day. These are people unable to cover their basic needs. Solid waste management can be linked directly to this cause by encouraging people to donate what they no longer use to people who may need the items rather than disposing off to the bin. This way, help is extended to the poor while reducing waste.

2.????No hunger:

Some of the causes of hunger are poverty, food shortage, seasonal changes, natural disasters, lack of access?to water and many more. Direct link between some of these factors can be seen with solid waste management. Impact of improper solid waste disposal cannot be overemphasized on major causes of environmental pollution which leads to unfavourable seasonal changes and natural disaster such as flooding. These severely harm crops and other agricultural produce.?

3.????Good health and wellbeing:

As extracted from who.int, “hazardous waste or unsafe waste treatment such as open burning can directly harm waste workers or other people involved in waste burning and neighbouring communities. Vulnerable groups such as children are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Poor waste collection leads to environmental and marine pollution and can block water drains. Resulting flooding and other standing waters in waste items favour cholera and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue”. Improper waste disposal can have significant adverse effect on health and thus calls for an adequate waste management to mitigate impact on general health and wellbeing.

4.????Responsible consumption and production:

This goal aims at efficient and effective lifecycle management of materials from raw materials extraction through production, consumption and finally disposal. Solid waste management plays a very strategic role here by advocating for recycling of used items. For example, we can recycle paper, aluminium, glass, and plastic. This reduces strain on the natural resources and eco system leading to reduced waste.

5.????Climate action:

Rising levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are causing changes in our climate and this can be largely traced to improper waste disposal. Two major traditional ways of disposal are dumping on landfill and incineration. Both methods introduce huge volume of CO2 into the atmosphere. For example, decomposition of organic matter from solid waste dumped on land and burning of solid waste both produce carbon footprint. There is a clear need of an effective solid waste management to arrest the threat to our environment.

6.????Life below water:

According to the research by World Bank, only 6 percent of plastics have ever been recycled as seen from below diagram. This means we have huge volumes of discarded plastic materials clogging our landfill and waterbodies. According to https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/, “Plastics pollution has a direct and deadly effect on wildlife. Thousands of seabirds and sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it”.

There is a strong need for you and me to actively engage in solid waste management with focus on impact on health and environment. We need every one to be aware of 4Rs principle of managing waste and contribute positively to our planet.

Adeniji A

United Nations ClimateChange Resilience Org