{
  "title": "Waste Woes in the World",
  "publication": "IMF Blog, January 31, 2020",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2020/01/31/waste-woes-in-the-world",
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  "summary": "Higher-income countries like the United States, Denmark, and New Zealand generate at least twice as much waste per capita than developing countries.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Key findings on waste generation",
      "content": "- Higher-income countries like the United States, Denmark, and New Zealand generate at least twice as much waste per capita than developing countries.\n- Most waste in middle- and high-income countries consists of inorganic materials, notably paper and plastic.\n- While high-income countries generate more waste per capita, developing countries produce more than half of total solid waste in aggregate volume.\n- Many of the world’s highest waste generation rates per person are found in developing island nations, where tourism plays a large role and scarcity of land for landfilling (or dumping) makes disposal problems especially acute. Rising sea levels due to global warming exacerbate this scarcity.\n- In low-income developing countries, most waste is biodegradable organic material; this share shrinks as income rises."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Evidence from policy experiments and outcomes",
      "content": "- Plastic bag taxes are an example of an advanced disposal fee: you pay up front for the waste you are about to create. To date 30 countries have a plastic bag tax to help reduce waste and help save the environment.\n- “Pay-as-you-throw” systems charge by the garbage bin, plastic bag, or weight of garbage; studies show these schemes can significantly reduce the amount of waste people generate.\n- South Korea case study:\n  - Solid waste generation rose with incomes and consumption until policy change.\n  - In 1995 the government introduced a system requiring payment for official bags to dispose of garbage; the price varied by municipality and reflected local disposal cost.\n  - Waste generation fell from 1.3kg per person per day in 1994 to 0.95 kg in 2014.\n  - Recycling rate rose from 15.4 percent to 59 percent over the same period.\n  - A 2013 composting program to separate food waste coincided with landfill food waste falling from 97 percent in 1994 to about 2 percent in 2014."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Projections and policy implications",
      "content": "- Global waste volume is projected to double to 2.3 billion tons in 2025.\n- Fiscal policies that change the price signals facing consumers—such as plastic bag taxes and pay-as-you-throw schemes—can change people’s choices and behavior and help reduce waste volumes."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Context and authorship",
      "content": "- Publication date: January 31, 2020.\n- Publication: Chart of the Week, Climate change; author: The Editors.\n- IMFBlog is a forum for views of IMF staff and officials; the IMF is an organization of 191 countries.\n\nSource: Waste Woes in the World (IMF, January 31, 2020).\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Chart-1-waste-blog.png\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2020/01/31/waste-woes-in-the-world"
    }
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    "Authors: The Editors",
    "Published: January 31, 2020",
    "Higher-income countries like the United States, Denmark, and New Zealand generate at least twice as much waste per capita than developing countries.",
    "Most waste in middle- and high-income countries consists of inorganic materials, notably paper and plastic.",
    "While high-income countries generate more waste per capita, developing countries produce more than half of total solid waste in aggregate volume.",
    "Many of the world’s highest waste generation rates per person are found in developing island nations, where tourism plays a large role and scarcity of land for landfilling (or dumping) makes disposal problems especially acute. Rising sea levels due to global warming exacerbate this scarcity.",
    "In low-income developing countries, most waste is biodegradable organic material; this share shrinks as income rises.",
    "Plastic bag taxes are an example of an advanced disposal fee: you pay up front for the waste you are about to create. To date 30 countries have a plastic bag tax to help reduce waste and help save the environment.",
    "“Pay-as-you-throw” systems charge by the garbage bin, plastic bag, or weight of garbage; studies show these schemes can significantly reduce the amount of waste people generate.",
    "South Korea case study:",
    "Global waste volume is projected to double to 2.3 billion tons in 2025.",
    "Fiscal policies that change the price signals facing consumers—such as plastic bag taxes and pay-as-you-throw schemes—can change people’s choices and behavior and help reduce waste volumes.",
    "Publication date: January 31, 2020.",
    "Publication: Chart of the Week, Climate change; author: The Editors.",
    "IMFBlog is a forum for views of IMF staff and officials; the IMF is an organization of 191 countries.",
    "[https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Chart-1-waste-blog.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Chart-1-waste-blog.png)"
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