Smart Waste Management Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Increasing Rate of Urbanization –Waste pollution is mainly caused by industrial waste and urbanization. Therefore, it is expected to increase the growth of the global smart waste management market. As per the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the urbanization rate has increased from 43.1 per cent in 2010 to 49.8 per cent in 2020.
   
• Emission of Methane Contributing to Global Climate Change – Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that can be hazardous owing to its flammability and explosive potential. Hence, it is projected to surge the growth of the global smart waste management market. According to the United Nations Environment Protection (UNEP) data published in 2021, 8% of human-linked methane emissions is contributed by paddy rice cultivation in agriculture sector. Whereas 32% of human-caused methane emissions comes from livestock manure and gastroenteric releases.
   
• Upsurge in Global Waste Generation – As per the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the total generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) was ~292 million tonnes or ~5 pounds per person per day in United States in the year 2018. Out of total waste MSW generated, approximately 94 million tons of MSW were recycled and composted whilst other methods were employed to manage additional 17.7 million tonnes of food.
   
• Changing Pattern of Consumption Attributed to Rising Average Income –Improved standard of living leads to an increase in solid waste which will affect the health of the people if proper disposal methods are not adopted by the people. Hence, it is expected to drive the growth of the global smart waste management market. It was found that, in the year 2021, the average gross wage per full-time employee in the United States was ~USD 6,228/month or USD 74,738 annually.
   
• Growing Concern of Rising Incidences of Pollution Globally – It was found that, in the year 2019, ~9 million premature deaths were caused by pollution. The number of deaths inflicted by air pollution, water pollution, lead, and toxic occupational hazards accounted for approximately 7 million, ~1.5 million, ~900,000 and ~870,000 deaths respectively.

Challenges

• High Cost Required for the Adoption of Effective Waste Management – As per the World Bank, the operational costs required for developing efficient integrated systems that are sustainable, and socially supported is high. It mostly comprises 20%–50% of municipal budgets.
   
• Heavy Reliability on Informal Workers for Resource Recovery - Collection, sorting, and recycling of 15%–20% waste generated is done by informal workers who lack proper training.
   
• Concern of Improper Waste Handling due to Lack of Awareness – More than 90% of waste is usually burned openly or disposed in unregulated dumps in low – income countries.