Waste includes all we throw away—household trash, industrial by‑products, food, plastics, e‑waste. According to the World Bank, globally, we generate 2.2 billion tonnes of solid waste each year and without changes (aka “business-as-usual” approach) that may rise to 3.88 billion tonnes by 2050.
We’ve managed waste in landfills, incinerators, recycling, or exporting waste abroad. But many landfills are overflowing, and new ones are hard to build.
BTW landfill isn’t really trash thrown into well-dug trenches. It’s usually just piled up above ground, which is easier and cheaper. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know I only share videos I’ve actually watched myself. The one below explains why landfills are so toxic (watch form 2:00 onwards). And yes, I have ADHD, so I tend to prefer videos that are engaging and straight to the point. (Also the reason why my youtube vids are so short!)
Every day, landfills spread methane, leach toxins into soil and groundwater, and take up land that could serve other ecological or human purposes. Waste piles up, especially in fast‑growing cities with weak disposal systems. The size of landfills continues to grow almost everywhere, making waste management a major exam topic in IB Geography.
Why Some Countries Receive Large International Flows of Consumer Waste
Certain low-income countries receive large quantities of waste, often for economic reasons, even though it presents environmental and health challenges. Here are a few reasons why:
- Money incentive → importing waste for valuable metals, despite the fact that informal recycling exposes workers to hazardous chemicals → ie. Ghana imports e-waste & recovers valuable metals like gold, copper, and palladium. Agbogbloshie is the largest e-waste dump in the world
- Weak environmental controls → cheaper to export waste than process it domestically → leads to waste exportation → China used to be the largest importer of plastic waste, but starting 2018, it imposed a waste ban, leading to exports being diverted to other Southeast Asian countries
While seeking alternative homes, recyclers operating in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia bought, but were quickly overwhelmed by, the sheer volume that China once easily absorbed.
P.S Content in these posts is stripped down to the bare minimum for quick exam revision, where I only provide two points. Full notes are based directly on past IB exam questions, with detailed case studies and at least three exam-ready points per topic—available [here].
Environmental Benefits of Recycling
- Reduces non-renewables needs → ie. recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy compared to producing new aluminum from bauxite
- Decreases landfill waste → less land needed, fewer methane emissions from organic waste decomposition → also divertswaste from landfills reduces habitat destruction
Limitations of Recycling
- Some materials are too expensive or hard to recycle → mixed plastics, electronics are costly to process and often end up in landfills
- Recycling infrastructure may not exist at scale → many low-income countries lack recycling facilities → example: India still relies on informal waste systems that → In India, there are between 1.5-4 million informal waste pickers, who recover, sort and sell on reusable and recyclable solid waste from streets, bins, landfills and material recovery facilities
Environmental and Economic Impacts of International Waste Flows
- Environmental Impact → receiving countries face water pollution from heavy metals and leachates → ie. Ghana’s e-waste dumpsites contaminate local water sources → harming agriculture and drinking water
- Economic Impact → importing waste can create jobs → informal sectors recover valuable metals, such as gold and copper and extraction jobs create income for the otherwise unemployed
Why Recycling Rates Differ Between Countries
Recycling rates differ between countries due to factors like government policies, public awareness, and available infrastructure. In countries with strong recycling programs, such as Germany or Sweden, a combination of factors contribute to high rates.
In contrast, nations with limited recycling facilities or weaker regulations often struggle to meet targets, leading to lower rates.
Strong government policies and early adoption → Germany has a 65% recycling rate → policies and public awareness campaigns in Germany established recycling decades ago
Full case study available in Resource Consumption Revision Pack
Read here for more on Ecological Footprint
Read here for more on Malthus v Boserup
See rest of Unit 3 for more on resource security