Arooj Zulfiqar

“Rather than handling this garbage haphazardly, we need to take meaningful steps to track, separate, and then treat it sustainably”, said Arif Goheer, Principal Scientific Officer, Global Change Impact Studies, Ministry of Climate Change. “Waste contributes greatly to the triple planetary crisis -- climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Humans generate 2.24 billion tons of municipal solid waste a year, but only 55% of it is managed in controlled facilities. Every year, around 931 million tons of food is lost or wasted and up to 14 million tons of plastic waste enters aquatic ecosystems,” he said.

“With zero waste initiatives, we can minimise and prevent waste, help address the triple planetary crisis, protect the environment, enhance food security, and improve our health,” he added. Zero waste is a philosophy and set of practices that aims to eliminate waste by redesigning resource use and management. “As the population grows, billions of tons of waste is produced every year. Only 15% of this garbage, worth billions, gets recycled; the rest ends up in landfills or open dumps. Besides wasting finite resources, it also causes other problems,” he pointed out.

Arif said that due to the lack of proper waste management systems and general civic illiteracy, Pakistan’s excessive garbage generation poses an even greater challenge. He said zero waste, which is defined as “producing little or no waste,” is one of the potential solutions.

“The lack of waste management infrastructure in Pakistan, like in other developing countries, is causing major problems. There is a shortage of waste collection and disposal facilities, and many areas do not have any organised waste collection services. As a result, a significant amount of waste is simply dumped in open spaces, rivers, or burned, which poses serious environmental and health risks,” Arif said.

Moreover, he said, there is a general lack of awareness among the public about waste management practices. “Many people do not realise the importance of proper waste disposal and recycling, and often dispose of their waste indiscriminately. This not only exacerbates the garbage problem, but also harms the environment,” he said.

He said that achieving the zero-waste goal requires changes in priorities, policies, mindsets, and supporting governance architecture. “Decentralisation should be planned. A supporting legislative and regulatory framework must be established to assist private enterprises. Both the support of locally developed technologies and the promotion of accepted practices are essential to achieve the objective,” he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk