Globally, approximately 3 billion people do not have access to appropriate waste management facilities, leading to mismanaged waste that negatively impacts human health and the environment. Estimates show that each person on average generates 0.74 kilograms of waste per day, ranging widely between 0.11 – 4.54 kg/day^[1] globally. Every day, 2.2 million tonnes (2,200,000,000 kilograms) of municipal solid waste (MSW) is managed inadequately. This includes but is not limited to, direct dumping of waste into streets, public spaces, drainage systems and the environment in general, or collection and transportation of waste to disposal and recovery facilities that are not operated or built in an environmentally sound manner. As a result, increasing amounts of uncollected or mismanaged wastes  are ending up in water bodies, reaching the seas and oceans, and contributing to global marine litter pollution. This negatively affects biodiversity, among other consequences.

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the shortcomings of MSW management systems become even more apparent. Discarded healthcare waste from households and medical facilities (e.g. used masks and gloves) is mingling with the MSW stream, posing additional health risks. Even before the pandemic, it was estimated that annually between 400,000 and one million people die from easily preventable diseases caused by mismanaged waste, such as diarrhoea, malaria, heart diseases and cancer^[2]. This equals one person dying every 30 to 80 seconds.