The paper discusses various critical aspects of solid waste management, particularly in low-income nations, and highlights the significant environmental implications of improper waste disposal. Here are the key results and findings from the paper:
- Budget Allocation: Municipalities in low-income countries allocate only about 20% of their budgets to waste management. This limited funding severely hampers effective waste management practices.
- Waste Disposal Practices: More than 90% of waste in these regions is either openly burnt or dumped. This practice poses serious health risks and environmental challenges, necessitating urgent action to improve waste management systems.
- Impact on Health and Environment: The paper emphasizes that improper solid waste management can adversely affect air, water, soil, flora, and fauna. It highlights the direct correlation between waste management practices and public health, indicating that poor waste management can lead to health crises.
- Ecological Consequences: Solid waste has a wide range of impacts on the environment, including altering animal behavior, disrupting predator-prey dynamics, and contributing to the decline of wildlife populations. The spread of diseases among wildlife and reduced fitness levels are also significant concerns [1].
- Global Implications: On a larger scale, the paper notes that inadequate solid waste management contributes to climate change and marine pollution. This global perspective underscores the urgency of addressing waste management issues not just locally but also as part of a worldwide environmental strategy [1].
- Resource Utilization: The unrestricted use of resources to create products that are later discarded leads to a depletion of global resources. This unsustainable practice highlights the need for more responsible consumption and waste management strategies [1].
In summary, the paper presents a comprehensive overview of the challenges and consequences of solid waste management in low-income nations, emphasizing the need for immediate and effective interventions to mitigate health risks and environmental damage.
Sources
Municipalities in low-income nations are spending only 20% of their budget on waste management and more than 90% of waste in low-income nations is openly burnt/dumped which will have huge implications for the health and, thus, requiring urgent action. Changing compositions of solid wasteSolid waste and rapid urbanization poses a challenge to manage the wastes in an environmentally acceptable manner. Effective waste managementWaste management depends on local waste characteristics. Solid wasteSolid waste can affect air, water, soil, flora, fauna, property, and human health. Unrestricted use of resources to make something which is later thrown away will affect global resources. Solid wasteSolid waste will have everything on the earth which is used and discarded by humans. The solid wasteSolid waste has an array of impact on environmentEnvironment including animal behaviour, spreading of seeds, altering predator–predator and predator–prey dynamics, eradication of wildlife population, spread of ailment in wildlife, reduced fitness among wildlife, choking of digestive system. At a global scale, improper solid wasteSolid waste management contributes to climate change and marine pollution. Considering these aspects, this chapter deals in detail with the impact of solid wasteSolid waste on environment. Almost all human activities will have impact on the environment, so as the SWMWaste management. Municipalities in low-income nations are spending only 20% of their budgetsBudget on waste managementWaste management and more than 90% of wasteWaste in low-income nations is openly burnt/dumped, which will have huge implications for the health and thus require urgent action.
Business Ideas Based on Environmental Issues
Based on the insights from the paper regarding solid waste management and its environmental impacts, here are three business ideas that could be initiated:
