The world's growing municipal solid waste: trends and impacts
Overview
Paper Summary
Global municipal solid waste is projected to reach 3539 Mt by 2050, with organic waste declining and other types increasing. While the share of waste treated in dumps decreases, the overall trend in waste generation does not show signs of decoupling from economic growth, failing to meet UN SDG targets for waste reduction.
Explain Like I'm Five
Scientists found that the world will make much more trash in the future, especially plastic and other stuff. Even though we might have less food trash, we're not getting better at making less garbage overall, which is a problem for our planet.
Possible Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
Identified Limitations
Rating Explanation
This study provides a comprehensive, global analysis of MSW trends, utilizing a novel compositional Bayesian regression approach to disaggregate waste by type and treatment. It offers valuable insights into future waste management and its environmental impacts, although some limitations regarding data availability and model assumptions exist.
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