Richard Hudson, Technical Manager at CIWM, breaks down the impact of poor waste management on health, the environment, and the economy.
Globally, an estimated 2.5 billion people – out of a world population of 8.3 billion – lack access to regular, formal waste collection services, forcing them to rely on dangerous and unregulated open dumping or burning.
This situation is expected to worsen without intervention, with projections suggesting the number could reach four billion by 2040. As well as lacking collections, a further three billion people lack access to controlled waste disposal facilities, such as sanitary landfills.
This inadequately managed waste is driving a public health and environmental crisis. When waste is not collected, or is dumped, burned or poorly treated, it can release hazardous chemicals, pollute the air, contaminate drinking-water sources, contaminate the soil used to grow food, and create breeding grounds for insects and rodents, which then spread disease.
Communities underserved by waste management services, those living near dumpsites and poorly managed landfills and incinerators, children and pregnant women, as well as waste workers – particularly those working informally – are exposed to the greatest risks.
The immediate health consequences
The rapid spread of infectious diseases, acute medical issues, and physical injuries are commonplace in communities without access to adequate waste management services.
When waste is not collected or disposed of properly, it creates breeding grounds for disease-carrying pests and contaminates essential resources like water and air.
Disease and illness
Uncollected waste and drains blocked by waste provide food and create breeding sites for vermin and vectors – blood-feeding arthropods like mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas.
This leads to diseases and conditions such as dysentery, diarrhoeal illnesses, cholera, and leptospirosis, as well as vector-borne diseases (VBDs), such as typhoid, malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever. Improperly managed clinical or biological waste can spread viral illnesses, such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C, through accidental contact.
Medical issues
The immediate environmental pollution from poor waste handling or burning can trigger several conditions. Open burning of waste can release toxic gases, such as dioxins and furans, and particulate matter, which cause immediate breathing difficulties, coughing, asthma attacks, and bronchitis.
Smoke and foul odours can lead to immediate eye and nose irritation, headaches, and nausea. Direct contact with hazardous waste or water polluted by waste frequently results in skin infections, chemical burns, irritations, and can cause poisoning or acute intoxication.
We are also only just beginning to understand the potential health risks associated with the Lancet recently quantifying emissions from plastics’ life cycle linked to human harms of global warming, air pollution, and toxic chemicals.
Physical injuries
Communities living near or working in informal dumpsites face constant physical risks. Contact with sharp objects such as broken glass, metal scraps, and medical needles results in cuts and puncture wounds, which often lead to secondary infections like tetanus.
Sadly, it is the vulnerable groups in society, such as children, the sick, or the elderly, who are disproportionately affected by these immediate risks due to their developing immune systems and higher likelihood of playing near waste sites. In underserved communities, poor waste management has been linked to nutritional malabsorption and stunting in children.
The affect on livelihoods and local economies
Poor waste management creates significant, long-term economic liabilities and severely undermines livelihoods, particularly in developing nations and marginalised communities.
It transforms potentially valuable resources into hazardous waste, leading to a ‘downward spiral’ of environmental degradation, increased public health expenses, and reduced income for sectors like tourism, fishing, and agriculture.
Health-related income loss – The health issues described in the previous section result in potential loss of household income, whilst at the same time increasing spending on healthcare.
Impact on farming and fishing – Leachate (liquid waste) contaminates groundwater and soil, reducing agricultural productivity, destroying crops, and killing livestock. Marine plastic pollution damages fishing grounds and reduces catches for coastal communities. Food costs increase as a consequence.
Reduced investment – Areas plagued by waste mismanagement often struggle to attract new businesses and investment, leading to stagnant economic growth.
Diminished property values – The proximity of households and businesses to dump sites, or polluted water, reduces property attractiveness and value, hurting local real estate markets.
High cleanup costs – Hard-pressed, cash-strapped local authorities are forced to spend their limited budgets on cleaning up and managing environmental degradation, diverting funds from other essential services like education or infrastructure.
Missed economic value – The failure to capture resources (such as plastics, metals, and organic waste) results in the loss of potential revenue streams.
Impact on local amenity and tourism – Uncontrolled waste, litter, and odours make areas unappealing, causing a significant drop in tourism revenue and related businesses, such as restaurants and hotels.
The environmental consequences
Inadequate waste management can cause severe long-term environmental consequences, including permanent soil and groundwater contamination from toxic leachate, widespread biodiversity loss, and significant greenhouse gas emissions like methane.
It leads to persistent microplastic pollution, air pollution from burning, and long-term ecosystem degradation, ultimately threatening food safety and creating hazardous, intergenerational inequity and toxic legacies.
Contribution to climate change– Poorly managed dumpsites and landfills are major producers of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and the controlled and uncontrolled combustion of fossil-fuel plastics also cause significant and growing contributions to greenhouse gas emissions.
Soil and groundwater pollution – Leachate from poorly managed waste can contain heavy metals and chemicals, which seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, rivers, and lakes, threatening drinking water safety and agricultural land for decades.
Biodiversity and ecosystem loss – Uncontrolled dumping and habitat destruction destroy natural landscapes, causing a decline in species diversity and disrupting delicate ecosystems.
Microplastics – Mismanaged plastics will ultimately break down into microplastics, which can enter the food chain, accumulate in ecosystems, and travel through wind and water.
Air pollution and toxic emissions – Open burning of waste releases dangerous cumulative toxins, such as dioxins and heavy metals, into the air.
Intergenerational inequity – The long-term effects of poorly managed waste result in intergenerational inequity and environmental injustice, leaving future generations with the burden of polluted landscapes and degraded resources.
