Evaluating Recycling Efficiency and Material Recovery Pathways for Sustainable Waste-to-Value Systems Using Global Waste Management Data

Abstract

Globally, waste-management systems are mainly reliant on disposal, although there are significant recoverable materials in municipal solid waste. The recycling efficiency and material-recovery pathways were assessed based on country-level global waste-management data on the amounts of waste generated, waste composition, recycled, composted, incinerated, land filled, and dumped. The recovery potential and factors associated with recycling performance were assessed using descriptive statistics, regional and income-group comparisons, correlation analysis and multiple regression. This analysis revealed that the organic waste was the largest proportion of waste and dry recyclable waste also a significant proportion. There is however a significant recovery gap as mean recycling and composting rates are far below the estimated recovery potential. Generally, high-income countries' waste recycling and disposal dependency were higher than low-income countries' recycling rates and their dependency on open dumping, despite lower waste per capita, in the latter. Some regional differences were also observed, depending on the level of infrastructure, governance, source separation and the secondary-material markets. Economic capacity and dry-material recovery potential were positively associated with recycling, whereas disposal dependency was negatively associated with recycling. Among all these factors, in the regression model, disposal dependency had the largest effect on the performance of the recycling process. The study ends on the ambitious conclusion that sustainable waste-to-value transitions demand systems that integrate source segregation, material recycling, biological waste treatment, energy recovery and controlled residual disposal. Avoiding disposal dependency is a key step to making resource use more efficient and supporting the global circular waste-management systems.