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Waste

Waste can be a byproduct of industrial processes - or an item can become waste after it's been consumed. Waste - be it plastic, micro-plastic, radioactive, or otherwise toxic - can cause major environmental problems.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

A man in a welding mask melts an iron rod over a blazing fire in Burundi.

Metal recycling in Burundi protects water from toxic waste

Metal recycling in Burundi protects water from toxic waste

Scrap metal collectors in Burundi are helping to keep water clean and creating useful products. 
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 20, 202406:15 min
A man in India's Tamil Nadu state walks past a solar panel

India: The hidden cost of Tamil Nadu's solar boom

India: The hidden cost of Tamil Nadu's solar boom

Tamil Nadu's solar revolution is a green success story, but what happens to discarded solar panels?
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 18, 202405:38 min
Two outstreched hands in white rubber laboratory gloves - the right hand holds coarsely chopped eggshells, the left hand holds eggshells finely ground into dust.

Ugandan entrepreneurs turn waste eggshells to profit

Ugandan entrepreneurs turn waste eggshells to profit

Kampala businesses are cutting waste AND profiting, producing building materials and food supplements – from eggshells!
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 17, 202405:03 min
A woman stands on top of a gigantic garbage mountain of fast fashion clothes in Kenya.

Kenyan influencer fights fast fashion waste reel by reel

Kenyan influencer fights fast fashion waste reel by reel

Social media influencer Janet Chemitei draws attention to textile waste and fashion industry pollution.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 16, 202405:18 min
Waste pickers Salmaa and Usmaan Sheikh search for recyclable materials at a landfill site on the outskirts of Jammu, India, during a heatwave. Sheikh and his family are among the millions of people in India who earn their living by searching for and selling recyclable waste.

Plastic pollution: No end in sight to growing problem

Plastic pollution: No end in sight to growing problem

Plastic waste is everywhere — production is growing rapidly, and with it the dangers for people and the environment.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 15, 20249 images
A woman walks on a landfill site

In India, Gurugram's citizens lead waste cleanup revolution

In India, Gurugram's citizens lead waste cleanup revolution

Hotels and housing complexes have fueled a trash crisis in the Indian city of Gurugram, but residents are taking action.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 12, 202405:53 min
Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

People on boats collect recyclable plastics from the heavily polluted Citarum River at Batujajar in Bandung, West Java

Can a global treaty clean up plastic waste?

The final round of negotiations for a global plastics treaty will look to rapidly cut surging plastic pollution.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 25, 2024
Workers in Malaysia open the doors of a plastics waste shipment

Malaysia struggles to halt European plastic waste imports

Malaysia is one of Europe's top dumping grounds for plastic waste. Will the EU's upcoming export ban make a difference?
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 3, 2024
Electronic waste of computers, printers, and wires

E-waste from AI computers could 'escalate beyond control'

Researchers predicting a 1,000-fold increase in e-waste from AI computers by 2030 have called for recycling strategies.
ScienceOctober 28, 2024
Piles of grabage lying open near residential areas in Karachi, Pakistan

Pakistan: What's behind the 'unsolvable' garbage crisis?

The massive trash problem in Karachi is causing acute health problems, both for adults and children.
SocietyOctober 8, 202403:01 min
Red Cross volunteers carry the body of a victim retrieved from the site of a garbage dump landslide

Uganda ponders lessons from deadly garbage landslide

A tragedy at Kampala's Kiteezi landfill has highlighted the urgent need for better waste management solutions in Uganda.
CatastropheAugust 21, 2024
Rescuers work at the site of a landslide at Kiteezi landfill in Kampala, Uganda.

Uganda: Death toll rises after landslide at rubbish dump

At least 24 people are confirmed dead after a landslide at a landfill site at the edge of Uganda's capital, Kampala.
CatastropheAugust 13, 202401:51 min
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