A global comparison of garbage
NOTHING evokes environmental degradation and poverty quite so vividly as pictures of slum-dwelling children scavenging through mounds of steaming waste for items to sell. Such sights are often a direct consequence of economic success and rapid urbanisation, and so could become increasingly common as the rate of urbanisation in many poor countries increases. Nearly all rubbish is generated by city-dwellers, and in a new reporton municipal solid waste (MSW), the World Bank warns of the potential costs of dealing with an ever-growing deluge of garbage. The world's cities currently generate around 1.3 billion tonnes of MSW a year, or 1.2kg per city-dweller per day, nearly half of which comes from OECD countries. That is predicted to rise to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025, or 1.4kg per person. The Bank estimates China's urbanites will throw away 1.4 billion tonnes in 2025, up from 520m tonnes today. By contrast, America's urban rubbish pile will increase from 620m tonnes to 700m tonnes.
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