By 2050, worldwide municipal solid waste generation is expected to have increased by roughly 70 per cent to 3.4 billion metric tonnes as population growth, urbanisation, economic growth, and consumer shopping habits take their toll.* And only around 20% is recycled. Solutions have to be found to reuse the resources we already have on the planet to make the things we need to sustain us in future.
Waste is a leading cause of environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, particularly construction waste that accounts for more than a third of all waste produced in Europe. The repurposing and remanufacturing of waste at large scale is of critical importance to averting a climate catastrophe.
Solid waste contributes directly to greenhouse gas emissions through the generation of methane from the anaerobic decay of waste in landfills, and the emission of nitrous oxide from solid waste combustion facilities. Both of these greenhouse gases have high global warming potential: methane has 21 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide has 310 times the warming potential.
*Statista 2022
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