Raising Public Awareness of Waste Management

Introduction

If the waste is not collected and managed properly, it threatens the environment and human health. Increasing risk is linked with a consumer society's habits and lifestyle. Due to dynamic urbanization and population growth, the challenge for waste management is getting more intense, being the most significant issue built-up areas face in developing countries. In trying to solve this global problem, the United Nations set goals for sustainable development related to sustainable consumption and production patterns. As a result, moving from the model of waste management in a linear economy to resource management within a circular economy became a prerequisite for future sustainability. The characteristic of the former is the so-called “take, make, and waste” approach to resources, production, and consumption, while the latter works to reduce waste before it is produced (by rethinking or prevention) and treats the already made waste as a resource (by reusing, recycling, recovering energy, composting…). However, although a substantial reduction of waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse has been one of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals (2015) since 2015, significant improvement in this field has not been achieved since the amount of generated waste is still increasing. According to the Eurostat (2022), the EU generated 225.7 million tonnes of municipal waste in 2020, a 1% increase compared to 2019 (+1.8 million tonnes) and +14% compared to 1995 (+27.7 million tonnes).

Multiple instruments are available to combat the problem of improper waste disposal: direct regulations, economic instruments and social instruments. Although regulations are necessary instruments that direct or forbid specific practices, alone or in combination with economic instruments, social instruments are inevitable if raising people's awareness is needed, both attitudes and actions. Also, when other instruments are inappropriate or undesirable, social instruments might effectively achieve wanted behavior. They are based on two-way interaction between citizens and other stakeholders. They should be thoughtfully designed because people could be motivated to behave in one way or another by diverse factors, which may be the scope of psychological and sociological research. Well-designed and developed awareness campaigns are of great importance in this sense. This article outlines the rationale behind this endeavor and emphasizes its significance.

Waste management is an issue that must be wisely managed since it comprises sociological, political, economic, institutional, and environmental aspects. For this purpose, much effort has been made recently. For example, the European Union has established the Waste Framework Directive, which sets the basic concepts and definitions of waste management, including definitions of waste, recycling, and recovery. In the USA, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires the United States to establish a solid waste management program within its borders. The program aims to manage solid waste while protecting human health and the environment. Furthermore, the Global Waste Management Outlook, a joint action of the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Waste Management Association, offers a holistic approach towards waste management, recognizing waste and resource management as essential for sustainable development.

To be successfully implemented, this holistic approach should deal with all aspects of integrated waste management. In other words, waste-related issues can be solved if, besides the technical measures, other suitable non-technical measures are adopted simultaneously. The social components of these measures, i.e., public awareness of the importance of proper waste management and a high level of stakeholders' participation, are essential for success. Raising public awareness is crucial for sustainable waste management since the lack of awareness is recognized as one of the leading causes of environmental pollution. The effective uplifting of public awareness should bring significant environmental benefits through reductions in resource extraction and waste disposal, according to the circular economy model in waste management, which refers to the three Rs - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Public awareness forms the basis of public capacity, enabling the public to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste.