The Waste Challenge

Uncollected waste is likely to triple over the next 20 years, mainly in developing countries.

Between 2016 and 2040 uncollected waste is expected to grow from 47 million tonnes to 143 million tonnes. Uncollected waste is usually burned in the open air or ends up in rivers, in nature which eventually washes down to the sea. Most uncollected waste is in low and middle income countries where municipal waste collections are underfunded and struggle to deal with the huge volume of waste being produced.

Uncollected waste ends up in our oceans, 99% of ocean plastics are from emerging markets.

These countries all have in common that their municipal waste collection systems cannot cope with the huge mass of municipal solid waste. They are underfunded and are mostly low and middle income countries.

Their greatest challenge is waste collection.

How can we change the situation? Yes, the answer is called “EPR”, Extended Producer Responsibility.

In 2021 these 10 companies are the most common brands found among ocean waste.

Source: Break free from plastic - Brand audit 2021.

A new type of waste regulation is spreading across the world. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obliges packaging manufacturers and brand owners to collect the ‘post-consumer’ packaging that they have put on the market. When the legislation kicks in the % collected is low, say 10%, but gradually grows each year. Failure to collect the target waste, leads to the charging of a fine that is higher than the cost of collection. Started in Europe in the 1990s, and in place for all member states by 2024, it has since been implemented in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Tunisia. In some countries the fines for uncollected packaging are high (Mozambique USD 2000 / tonne) yet in most countries EPR is still voluntary.

Consumer goods companies should include these EPR fees into their products. This way they charge it through to their customers. Their customers can then make better informed purchasing decisions. The true collection costs of packaging waste vary from USD 800 per tonne to USD 100 per tonne ($0.8/kg to $0.1/kg) depending on the value of the material or the costs of the location. In this example a plastic bottle of Coke, weighing 10 grams, would increase by 6 cents (USD). For the customer is negligable. In the past Coca Cola collected glass bottles and refilled them. Today they sell PET bottles, and don’t worry about the collection and recycling. Resulting in less than 6% of their packaging being collected and recycled.

Due to EPR regulations, consumer goods and packaging companies are being pressured to collect their packaging waste.

Collection of packaging waste starts off with the voluntary commitments of companies and in about 40 countries is being implemented as EPR regulations.

The biggest push for volunatary company commitments has been led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme. Their ‘Global Commitment’ has united more than 500 organisations behind a common vision of a circular economy for plastics. Driven by the goal of tackling plastic pollution at its source, companies representing 20% of all plastic packaging produced globally have committed to ambitious 2025 targets to help realise that common vision.

Most EPR regulations also begin as voluntary schemes. This gives FMCG companies the time to practice. First recording the volumes of post-consumer waste put on the market; then monitoring the volumes that get to recyclers; then most companies will proactively initiate projects to collect packaging waste, delivering it to recyclers. Iin countries with new EPR regulations, the FMCG companies will often form a member ‘Packaging Recycling Organisation’ (PRO) with the mandate to organise packaging collection and recycling on behalf of its members. The PRO becomes the natural contact point for the government to negotiate annual targets, compliance rules and the height of fines for failing to meet the targets. Circular Action BV can loosely be classified as an International PRO.

So, who’s collecting waste? Waste Pickers collect 60% of all global recyclable waste

They’re called waste pickers, informal collectors or even ‘scavengers’. They collect more recyclable waste in the world than anyone else. According to PEW Trust & Systemiq there are 11 million waste pickers wordlwide collecting 60% of all recycled materials. In most developing nations one in every 200 citizens is a waste picker. They fulfill a very valuable service, yet they are ignored, neglected, underpaid and exploited. At Circular Action we consider them to be our ally. We help them improve their living standards, income and efficiency. For them and their families. Generally a waste picker earns 60% of minimum wage. On average they pick up about 40kg of recyclable materials per day. Which is 1 tonne per month or 12 tonnes per year. Circular Action considers waste pickers to be the most effective experts in the waste business. They get to places where garbage trucks can’t go. They are able to find valuable recyclable materials before the recyclables are mashed together in a garbage truck, rendering them useless.

Currently waste pickers only earn only for the material that they sell. What we want to change, is they get recognised for the valuable service that they perform. For that they should receive a bonus, a collection service fee, as all professionals do.

Our challenge is to increase packaging waste recycling, And we have the opportunity to improve waste picker incomes at the same time.

A waste picker collects an average of 40 kg of recyclables per day, earning them around USD 5 (Indonesia and Vietnam). This puts them at around 66% of minimum wage. By paying them 50% more as a collection service fee, their income would then reach minimum wage. The social cost of collection brings the price per tonne of recycled material up by USD 63 per tonne. A small price to pay for the valuable service that they deliver.

“The weight of all plastics produced each year is the same as the combined weight of the human race.” (UN Environment Programme)

$63 per tonne is roughly the price markup for socially inclusive recycling.

A waste picker in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.