Factors affecting development of waste management

The increasing global population with more than seven billion ¹ people and improving global welfare has resulted in an increased daily consumption of resources and raw materials (Troschinetz and Mihelcic 2009). More than 2.5 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated per year in the world. Figure 4.1 shows the MSW generation per capita per day in 63 different countries (Ngoc and Schnitzer 2009; Troschinetz and Mihelcic 2009). Most of the developed countries produce more wastes than developing countries, and this is connected to the socio-economic status of the countries. In the global context, not everyone is interested in knowing what happens to their waste after it is thrown away. Over time, consumer research has paid attention to purchases. There is now a need to recognise the consumption cycle and to also consider waste (De Coverly et al. 2008).