Modern waste management practices play a critical role in achieving sustainable development and addressing climate change.
The world generates a staggering amount of waste—over 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste every year. Our World Bank Group research also shows that global waste is projected to increase by 70 percent by 2050 unless urgent action is taken. This surge, across both industrial and municipal sectors, is expected to be particularly pronounced in developing countries.
With limited access to reliable collection services or reuse, recycling, and energy recovery facilities, most of the waste in developing countries winds up in open dumps, creating a significant public health hazard and causing pollution, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss. Waste is responsible for a full 20 percent of the world’s methane emissions. And, at a potency nearly 80 times that of carbon dioxide, emissions from the waste sector exacerbate the impacts of climate change.
Modern waste management practices play a critical role in achieving sustainable development and addressing climate change. This requires a shift away from the linear “take-make-waste” approach towards a circular economy. It means reducing waste generation and promoting waste-to-value solutions by reclaiming materials and recovering energy.
The Solution: The Circularity Plus Platform
Circularity Plus is an IFC-led initiative that supports private waste management companies and municipalities with integrated investment, advisory and networking solutions to harness the resource value in waste and foster a circular economy.
Focus Areas
Our client solutions span four areas of sustainable waste management
Current Advisory Engagement Areas
- Recycling and reuse: Accelerating plastic and e-waste recycling and post-consumer electronics reuse.
- Harnessing organic waste: Commercializing and scaling up bioconversion and biogas production.
- Developing circularity strategy: Developing circular waste management strategies for municipalities and private-sector clients.
- Accessing the carbon credit market: Enabling access to carbon credits for clients across the waste value chain.