The Biggest Blind Spot in Waste Management

May 08, 2024

The waste management industry has a huge blind spot that is bigger than the size of a landfill.

Data.

We boast of "zero waste to landfill" and complete industrial waste recycling,

yet a mere 9% of global waste actually gets recycled.

This disconnect screams of a systemic issue.

A lack of transparency and data to back up these claims.

• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆? 𝗗𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹?

Over 30% of the waste stream in major cities remains uncharacterized.

This means we're throwing away millions of tons of material without knowing exactly what it is.

This makes efficient processing and responsible disposal nearly impossible.

• 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽? 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀? 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀? 𝗢𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲, 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗪𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗽.

Real-time GPS tracking on waste collection vehicles is becoming common, but it's far from universal.

This lack of data creates a black box around where waste truly ends up.

Landfills could be nearing capacity (in fact, the US is on pace to run out of room in landfills within 18 years).

Incinerators raise air pollution concerns.

Worse still, illegal dumping, a major environmental hazard, is difficult to track without proper data collection.

• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺; 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲.

While recyclables are important, the real challenge lies with non-recyclables.

A staggering 70% of global waste is estimated to be non-recyclable due to its composition or contamination.

Real-time analytics at waste sorting facilities could help identify these non-recyclables early on.

The current system is not sufficient.

𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Want a roadmap to navigate this data revolution for your brand? Book a call with us at Cercle.