ABSTRACT

Making the case for improved solid waste management (SWM) as a political priority is challenging. The three historical drivers of public health, local environmental protection and resource value are sometimes enough. The case is strengthened significantly by extending the scope from SWM to waste and resource management (WaRM) and the circular economy and by recasting improved WaRM as an entry point for tackling higher-profile Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary home for SWM is SDG11 (sustainable cities) and indicator 11.6.1, which is envisaged as a data hub for compilation of a global baseline on WaRM in cities. But WaRM is directly related to indicators under SDG1 (end poverty), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), and SDG12 (responsible consumption and production). Links to climate action (SDG13) and life below water (SDG14) are surprisingly strong: for example, cutting by half the weight of plastics entering the oceans through extending waste collection and eliminating uncontrolled disposal. Links to six other high-priority SDGs are still direct but more difficult to measure (e.g., SDG8, decent work through sustainable job creation, and SDG2, zero hunger through reducing food waste). Indirect links can be made to the remaining five SDGs, including difficult-to-tackle equality and governance issues.