WASTE
DON’T LET THE FUTURE go to
WASTE Improper waste management has serious health and environmental consequences. If it persists, it will undermine Africa’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. BY DCLM, OPERATED BY VEOLIA
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ccording to the Africa Waste Management Outlook, that is published by the United Nations Environment Programme: “Waste generation in Africa, like in other developing regions in the world, is driven by population growth, rapid urbanisation, a growing middle class, changing consumption habits and production patterns, as well as global waste trade and trafficking.” To create sustainable environments, industry, consumers and society as a whole have to rethink their consumption patterns, material use, wastage factors and consider the depletion of resources. With this being top of mind, current practice must change from a linear approach towards a circular one as material consumers and waste generators commence the process of preservation through re-use, recycling, repurposing and reducing waste. In undertaking any of these processes, technology can be hugely beneficial in ensuring that multiple Sustainable
DCLM fleet.
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Development Goals (SDGs) are met over time. With the use of technologies, the acceleration toward a circular economy can easily be achieved and create additional opportunities for job creation, innovation and bring renewed life into sectors like manufacturing. Global technology has already and will continue to change the way that we think about waste management, and in the future, we should be able to achieve zero waste, an improvement in services to citizens as well as reduce municipal operational costs thanks to smarter, more efficient waste management systems with the advancement of technology. A key focus of the SDGs is “Leave No One Behind”, South Africa cannot be a country left in this initiative to improve the lives of everyone on the African continent. There must be a path established to achieve them and technology is the one driver that could help create sustainable livelihoods. Technologies such as 4IR, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, advanced
