The future of global municipal solid waste generation

During the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), held in Nairobi between February 26 and March 1 this year, the report was presented Global overview of waste management 2024, with the theme “Beyond an era of waste: turning waste into a resource”. This work is the result of a partnership between the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). The report shows that more than 2.1 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) were generated in 2020. This amount is increasing every year. The report estimates that MSW generation will grow to 3.8 billion tons by 2050. An increase of 80% in generation. This increase is the result of the growth of the current economic model, population growth and the current unsustainable models of production and consumption.

As long as we are incarnate, we need to consume various resources from nature, be it in natura or products resulting from the transformation of these resources, to meet our basic needs for food, housing, clothing, transportation, health and sanitation. However, there is a huge difference between consumption and what is known as consumerism. Consumption is the acquisition of goods and services to meet basic human needs and is fundamental to our survival. Consumerism is consuming far more than you need or consuming things that aren't necessary, superfluous things, which are often discarded quickly, contributing to the enormous generation of MSW. This consumerist attitude can damage our health and adversely affect the conditions of the ecosystems on which we depend for our survival as a human species.

Affective needs, lack of social support and low self-esteem lead people to consumerism as a means of calming these internal emotional tensions, making them want more and more material things to satisfy their desires. Higher Spirituality warned us in question no. 716 of The Spirits' Book“By means of the organization it has given him, Nature has set the limits of his needs; however, his vices have altered his constitution and created needs that are not real.” Addictions have created physical and emotional dependencies on material things, the educational consequences of which will be reflected in this very existence or the next. The decision about what we buy, how we use it and how we dispose of it determines the amount of energy and raw materials we use and the amount of waste we generate.

The world's current economic model is based on the idea of continuous growth through the unlimited expansion of consumption. This principle, based on materialist philosophy, goes against the laws of nature, which state that on a finite planet like Earth, it is not possible to have infinite consumption of non-renewable natural resources. The sheer quantity of MSW is contributing to the triple planetary crisis: climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution. We are witnessing the negative consequences of implementing this model around the world: pollution of the air, rivers, sea, soil and groundwater, a huge amount of waste of natural resources, loss of biodiversity and climate change.

The data presented in the report Overview of solid waste in Brazil 2022, A study by the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies (Abrelpe) shows that in 2022 Brazil generated 81.8 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), which corresponds to 224,000 tons a day. In Brazil, most of the MSW collected (46 million tons) is disposed of in landfills. On the other hand, the amount of waste that goes to unsuitable facilities (dumps and controlled landfills) is 29 million tons per year. Brazil only recycled 4% of the MSW generated in 2022. All the rest ended up in controlled landfills, open dumps or on the country's streets and squares. The gravimetric composition of MSW in Brazil shows that 45.3% of all MSW generated is organic matter, which under anaerobic conditions in landfills releases methane gas, the second largest contributor to greenhouse gases. This organic matter could be converted into organic fertilizer using different existing composting techniques. In Brazil, the law establishing the National Solid Waste Policy has been in force since 2010.

Data from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on food waste in the world is worrying: 931 million tons of the food available for human consumption has gone to waste in households, retailers, restaurants and other food services, while more than 800 million people go hungry in the world! Almost a third of the world's food production is wasted, thrown away and ends up in landfills, open dumps or on the streets of the world. What makes this situation even more shocking is the UN figure which shows that, every year, hunger and malnutrition are responsible for the deaths of 3.1 million children under the age of 5. The Spirits, in question no. 930 of The Spirits' Book, In the same vein, they explain that “in a society organized according to the law of Christ, no one should die of hunger”. Human society is not yet organized according to the teachings of the Master Jesus.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was approved by 193 countries at the UN General Assembly in 2015. It is the most important civilizational agenda in history. It is an action plan aimed at people's prosperity, the conservation of the planet and the establishment of peace in the world. To achieve it, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets have been defined. SDG 12 deals with ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. Two of the targets of this SDG state that by 2030 we should:

• substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse;
• halving food waste per capita at the global, retail and consumer level, and reduce food waste throughout the production and supply chains, including post-harvest.

“As Spiritists, we should review our consumption habits in order to reduce our environmental impact by reducing food waste and the generation of MSW, because according to the Law of Cause and Effect, we will receive the consequences of our current decisions. We may be reincarnated on Earth again and we will receive the planet in more difficult conditions”.

Finally, the report highlights the urgency of the transition to a zero-waste approach, emphasizing the need to improve urban solid waste management in order to combat pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate negative impacts on human health. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce generation, use waste as a resource and dispose of the remaining material in a safe manner.

In conclusion, from a Spiritist point of view, we have a lot of work ahead of us. We must start by changing our habits with regard to consumption, use, reuse and proper disposal of goods; understand in a practical way the concept of what is necessary and what is superfluous; live a simpler life; dedicate more time and energy to developing our positive emotions and our spirituality. We must expand these attitudes and behaviors to the institutions of which we are a part: the home, the neighborhood, the Spiritist house, the Spiritist social work, the company, etc.

Spiritist houses, for example, can follow the guidelines of the Solid waste management plan of the Spiritist Federation of Rio Grande do Sul (FERGS) for solid waste management in their institutions. It is important to encourage selective collection programs in cities and the effective recycling of materials such as paper, glass, aluminum, metals, plastics, etc., as well as composting your organic waste. We should support or participate in organizations that are working on these issues, as well as supporting and electing our government representatives who dedicate their efforts in this area of solid waste management at the municipal, state and federal levels, in order to create laws that preserve and care for our common home: the beautiful blue planet. In doing so, we will contribute to building the foundations of a world of regeneration.

References

BRAZILIAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC CLEANING AND SPECIAL WASTE COMPANIES (ABRELPE). Overview of solid waste in Brazil 2022. Available at: https://abrelpe.org.br/panorama/. Accessed on: 6 Mar. 2024.

BRAZIL. Law n. 12.305, of August 2, 2010. Available at: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2010/lei/l12305.htm. Accessed on: 6 Mar. 2024.

SPIRITIST FEDERATION OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL (FERGS). Solid waste management plan (PGRS) of the Spiritist Federation of Rio Grande do Sul (FERGS). 2017. Available at: https://www.fergs.org.br/saber-ambiental. Accessed on: 6 Mar. 2024.

KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits' Book. Araras, SP: IDE, 1994.

UNITED NATIONS BRAZIL.  2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2015. Available at: https://brasil.un.org/pt-br/91863-agenda-2030-para-o-desenvolvimento-sustent%C3%A1vel. Accessed on: 6 Mar. 2024.

UNITED NATIONS (UN). Global Waste Management Outlook 2024. Available at: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/44939/global_waste_management_outlook_2024.pdf?sequence=3. Accessed on: 6 Mar. 2024.