Private Sector & Development #15 - Waste: the challenges facing developing countries

Open dumping of waste presents a real threat to the environment and to human health and is commonplace in developing countries. Constrained by budget pressures, towns and cities in the southern hemisphere are struggling to deal with the proliferation of municipal solid waste. Global production has practically doubled over the past ten years and is expected to reach 2.5 billion tonnes per year in 2025 as a result of the combined effect of urban development and changes in consumption patterns.