UNEP
Abstract: Every year across the globe more than two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated. If packed into standard shipping containers and placed end-to-end, this waste would wrap around the Earth?s equator 25 times, or further than traveling to the moon and back. As well as municipal waste, human activity generates signifcant amounts of agricultural; construction and demolition; industrial and commercial; and healthcare waste. This waste is produced on farms and building sites and in factories and hospitals. Municipal waste is generated wherever there are human settlements. It is infuenced by each person in the world, with every purchasing decision, through daily practices and in the choices made about managing waste in the home. The way people buy, use and discard materials determines the amount of energy and raw materials used and how much waste is generated. Municipal waste is thus intrinsically linked to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.